


Worth A Thousand Words

by Cuda77



Series: The Raspberry Mocha Latte Chronicles [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Buns And Roses, Chocolate Milk, Combat Totes, Crosshares, F/F, Multi, Photography, Picnics, Polyamory, Red Velvet, Spying, raspberry mocha latte, smutty dreams
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-07
Updated: 2016-07-30
Packaged: 2018-07-22 05:30:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 22,682
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7421788
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cuda77/pseuds/Cuda77
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Velvet and Coco have been together for awhile now and they're madly in love. There's just one problem. Neither one seems to be immune from the charms of Ruby Rose. And when their crushes on her become too substantial to ignore, the couple decide to see how receptive Ruby would be to joining them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Author's Note: Volume 3 never happened. It's a figment of your imagination. In the words of Nora Valkyrie, "Nope! Never happened! NOPE! Everything's fine! Nothing bad ever happened! EVER…
> 
> Now, let's get this story started! I hope you enjoy!

It was another pleasant day at Beacon Academy and afternoon classes had just concluded. Velvet Scarlatina was wandering along the school grounds by herself, hoping to avoid any sort of conflict with anyone. It had been a few weeks since she'd had a run-in with any bullies but she knew better than to get too comfortable about it. Just because students prejudiced against Faunus like herself weren't openly antagonizing her didn't mean they weren't still there, waiting for a chance to strike.

As she strolled, Velvet came across the young first-year prodigy, Ruby Rose, sitting under a tree and studying. Velvet had taken a liking to the younger girl after Ruby had stood up for Velvet on a few occasions when she'd caught Velvet being hassled. It didn't matter that she was three years younger than Velvet or several inches shorter than her tormentors, once she produced that scythe of hers, they left Velvet alone immediately. Her bravery plus her infections happiness led to Velvet holding a deep admiration for Ruby and they'd developed a close friendship.

Ruby was so engrossed with her book that she hadn't noticed Velvet nearby and Velvet's instincts as a photographer kicked in. She had a great shot on hand with how the light was and how Ruby looked. Quickly, Velvet pulled out her camera and lined up the shot, making sure she got the framing as perfect as possible. When she was satisfied, she pushed the shutter and took the picture. She briefly stole a glance at Ruby to make sure she hadn't seen but Ruby simply yawned and stretched. Velvet then glanced down at her screen to see the picture and was shocked by how good it was. She was always her worst critic when it came to her photos no matter how many times her friends reassured her that she was good. But she could tell that she'd struck gold with this one. Everything for it was absolutely perfect.

Velvet quickly saved the photo and feeling a rush of confidence, raised her camera again to snap another. This time, she wanted to focus more on Ruby instead of the scene as a whole. She slowly crept closer to the studying girl as her heart began hammering in her chest. She tried to keep herself calm and steady as she focused on Ruby's face as she chewed on her lower lip in concentration. Velvet snapped the photo but this time Ruby heard the shutter and she glanced up to see Velvet pointing her camera at her with her knees trembling. Velvet instantly began to panic and thought about fleeing but she was frozen in place. After a moment of confusion, Ruby broke into a smile and waved.

"Hi Velvet!" Ruby called. "Whatcha doing?"

"I'm so sorry, Ruby," said Velvet frantically as she fumbled around trying to put her camera away. "I just saw you there and I couldn't resist and I'm sorry for bothering you. Please don't be mad!"

"Whoa, Velvet, calm down," replied Ruby as reassuringly as she could so the older girl wouldn't be startled any further. "It's alright, I don't mind getting my picture taken. Why don't you come over here and sit down?" Ruby gestured to the grass beside her and after some hesitation, Velvet obliged and walked over to the tree Ruby was under. She sat down and tried to hide how red her face still was from getting caught. But Ruby simply grinned wider at her.

"I was just passing by and I saw you and the shot was too good to pass up," explained Velvet. "Are you sure you're not mad?"

"Of course I'm sure," said Ruby as she placed her hand on Velvet's shoulder. "You're my friend and if you want to take pictures of me, you're more than welcome to. Hey, could I maybe see it? Please?"

"Um, very well, if you wish," mumbled Velvet as she pulled her camera back out. Now she was really nervous because what if Ruby didn't like them? Velvet had thought she'd gotten a couple really good shots but if Ruby hated them, it would be shattering to Velvet's confidence. She turned the camera on and brought the photos she'd taken onto the display. Ruby's eyes went wide when she saw the first one and spent a few moments flipping back and forth between the shots.

"Wow, these are really incredible Velvet," Ruby breathed in amazement. "You actually got me to look somewhat decent. You really are magic."

"Oh hush," the mage said, "you are absolutely lovely. But thank you, it really means a lot that you like them."

"You bet." Suddenly, Ruby's eyes lit up as she got another one of her famous brilliant ideas. "Hey, are you doing anything right now? Do you wanna maybe stay and take some more together?"

"Are you sure?" Velvet asked nervously. "What about your homework? I don't want to interrupt you any further."

"Psh, it'll be fine," Ruby replied dismissively. "My team's having a big study date tomorrow in the library anyway so I can just finish it then. Besides, I need Weiss's help on a few parts anyway. Come on, it'll be fun!"

"Well, okay. It does sound like fun. And I always do enjoy getting to see you."

"Perfect!" cheered Ruby as she pumped her fists and made Velvet wish she had her camera ready right then to capture her celebration. "Let me just pack my stuff up and we can start!" Ruby then haphazardly jammed all her books and notes into her bag before laying down on the grass in a pose that Velvet could only assume was supposed to be sultry but just looked ridiculous to Velvet. "I'm ready for my closeup, Ms. Scarlatina," purred Ruby. Velvet giggled at Ruby's antics but obliged her request and took the picture.

The two spent the next hour taking pictures, joking around and catching up on their lives. Ruby had a ton of fun climbing all over the tree and hanging off the branches while Velvet photographed her. She had even managed to convince Velvet to let her take some pictures of the Faunus. Even though she vastly preferred being on the other side of the camera, Velvet couldn't say no to the pout that Ruby gave her. So Ruby snapped some shots of Velvet and some selfies of the two of them together. But as they played, some ominous looking clouds began to roll in. As Velvet fiddled with the settings on her camera to try and compensate for the changing light, Ruby snuck up behind her and began tickling Velvet's sides.

"Sneak attack!" Ruby shouted.

"AWK! Ruby, wait, hold on! My camera! Don't make me drop it," cried Velvet as she tried to squirm away from Ruby while keeping a secure hold on her camera. Ruby relented on her attack and stepped away guiltily.

"I'm really super sorry, Velvet," said Ruby aa she stared at the ground in shame. "I should have known better. Of course you could have dropped it and broken it and it would have been all my fault. And then you'd have been mad and not wanted to be friends and Weiss is right about what a clumsy dunce I am and—"

"It's fine, Ruby, really," interjected Velvet to break up Ruby's pity party. "Everything's fine now so it's all good, okay? I'm fine and so is my camera and we're still friends." Velvet carefully placed her camera back inside her case and set aside before going back to Ruby and placing her hands on the smaller girl's shoulders. Ruby looked up at Velvet, still looking upset with herself. "And I don't care what that Schnee girl says, you are not a dunce. You might be a little overzealous and reckless every now and then but you are one of the smartest minds I've met in my life, okay?"

"O-okay, thanks Velvet," said Ruby with a smile. She snaked her arms through Velvet's and hugged her around the neck in relief that she hadn't screwed up again. Velvet returned the embrace for a moment before striking with a surprise tickle attack of her own. Ruby tried frantically to escape their embrace as she hollered, "Ahh! Sneak attack! You'll pay for this, you fiend! Come here!"

"You don't stand a chance, Rose! Surrender now or face the consequences!" The two flailed about, trying to get purchase on the sensitive spots on the other until they both tumbled to the grass and began wrestling for position as they both shrieked with laughter. Finally, an out of breath Velvet ended up straddling Ruby and pinning her wrists above her head. As much as Ruby squirmed, she couldn't break free and had to submit.

"Okay, you win," Ruby panted, her face red from the exertion. Velvet released Ruby's wrists and pumped her fist in victory. The two remained like that for a few moments as they regained their wind. Velvet looked down at Ruby lying beneath her with her silver eyes glimmering with mirth and her hair splayed out everywhere and Velvet felt her heart rate pick up again. She wishes she hadn't stored away her camera so she focused on committing this moment to memory. Ruby noticed Velvet staring at her and raised an inquisitive eyebrow.

"Velvet? You okay?" Ruby asked with a hint of worry.

Velvet smiled serenely and nodded in confirmation. "I'm wonderful, Ruby," she said. "This has been a delightful time with you. I really cherish these times I get to spend with you. You're one of my dearest friends I have."

"Wow, thanks Velvet! You're pretty great too." Ruby flashed Velvet a grin that gave her goosebumps. She could feel her heart beating in a way that excited her but also scared her to death. This wasn't right. She shouldn't be here. And yet she didn't want to leave. This was the best place in the world at the moment. And she was going to stay there no matter what.

Just then, the clouds opened up and it began raining heavily across the grounds. Velvet let out a yelp of surprise and scrambled off of Ruby to get under the relative safety of the tree. Ruby groaned in disappointment and got to her feet. She quickly gathered up her school supplies so they wouldn't get ruined before turning to Velvet.

"Too bad the rain had to go and ruin the end of our day, huh?" Ruby asked glumly. Velvet simply nodded her head in confirmation, not wanting to make eye contact with the other girl. But then Ruby grabbed her hand tight and gave it a squeeze. "Hold on tight," said Ruby before dashing off as fast as she could while Velvet hung on for dear life behind her. In an instant, they found themselves back inside the school. Ruby let go of Velvet's hand and there was a small part of her that wished she hadn't and Velvet was fighting a huge internal battle to try and shut it up.

"Well, I should get back to my room and out of these dirty clothes," said Ruby sadly. Velvet couldn't help having images flash in her head of Ruby undressing and that only made things harder for her. Ruby waited patiently for a reply from Velvet but could see she was still zoned out. She then sighed heavily and said, "See you, Velvet," before speeding away down the hall.

"Uh, wait! Ruby!" Velvet called as she finally broke her stupor. But it was too late and Ruby had vanished, leaving her trademark trail of rose petals behind her. Velvet caught one that was floating in the air and brought it to her nose to smell. It smelled just like Ruby and Velvet felt her stomach lurch in a way she couldn't decide whether or not it was unpleasant. Slowly, Velvet turned to the opposite hallway and trudged back to her room with way more on her mind than she wanted.

**_To be continued…_ **


	2. Chapter 2

Later that night, Velvet sat alone in the Team CFVY dorm room. The rain outside was still falling and provided a complimentary mood to how Velvet was feeling. This couldn't be happening to her, could it? She couldn't be getting a crush (and a pretty large one at that) on Ruby Rose. It just couldn't happen. Not that there was anything particularly wrong with Ruby. It's just that Velvet already had a girlfriend that she loved dearly.

When Velvet had come to Beacon, she had no friends to speak of and yet her team gave her something more resembling a family. She loved them all and they'd all been so wonderful to her and helped her out in every way they could. But nobody cared more deeply for her and motivated her more than her leader, Coco Adel.

Even now, Velvet wasn't entirely certain why Coco gave as much as she did for her. Sure, she pushed everyone in the team and was always willing to help them when she could. But the dedication that Coco showed to her in making sure she was succeeding was so touching for Velvet. If Velvet needed help in class, Coco studied with her. If she needed to get better at combat, Coco sparred with her. If she needed to try out a new spell, Coco always volunteered to be the test subject. And whenever she was feeling lonely or bullied, Coco would sit up with her and try to comfort her. Velvet couldn't have imagined someone like Coco was really capable of existing before coming to the school.

It didn't really come as a surprise to Velvet that she'd fallen head over heels for her leader. What really surprised her was when she'd actually worked up the courage to ask Coco out on a date and Coco instantly agreed. She'd always assumed she was way out of Coco's league but things like that didn't matter to her. Coco may have been wealthy and beautiful and projected a stern, vain attitude that also overflowed with self-confidence but Velvet didn't count on that confidence extending so far that she wouldn't care if her girlfriend was shy, quiet, reserved and kinda nerdy. Or a Faunus. All she told Velvet was that she kept her waiting long enough before asking. Since then, the two had a wonderful relationship and Velvet was the happiest she'd ever been. She was in love with the strongest, most caring and most fiercely loyal woman she'd ever met who just happened to love Velvet back.

And that's what had Velvet so anxious now as she sat at her desk, scrolling through the pictures she'd taken with Ruby earlier. Velvet couldn't help analyzing her face in the photos as she remembered just how she felt when they were being taken. It was just like how she felt with Coco. And that was scaring Velvet to death. What did that mean? Did that mean she somehow felt the same way about Ruby that she did about Coco? Was it possible she loved Coco less? And why was she feeling that way? I mean, sure, Ruby was great but how could she be triggering such strong feelings in her?

It was driving Velvet mad. Part of her wanted to just delete all the photos and try to forget the day ever happened. But she couldn't ignore the other parts of her who wanted to keep them and look at them forever. Velvet was so caught up in her own mind that she didn't even register that Coco had returned to the room. Coco saw that Velvet was busy with her camera and quietly set her bag down before softly creeping over to where Velvet was sitting.

"Hey, honeybun," Coco whispered in Velvet's ear as she wrapped her arms over Velvet's shoulders and gently hugged her from behind. Velvet let out a screech of surprise and would have jumped out of her seat if Coco didn't have her held. Her camera did go flying, however, and Velvet frantically juggled it, trying to keep it from falling to the floor. Coco simply reached out and caught it with her hand and set it on the desk safe and sound.

"Goodness, Coco, you gave me a terrible fright," gasped Velvet as she tried to calm herself back down.

"Sorry about that, babe. I didn't mean to scare you." Coco kissed Velvet on the cheek to try and make up for it and Velvet felt her entire body go warm. At least that was a positive sign, Velvet thought. Velvet relaxed back against her chair to try to get closer to Coco and nuzzled her cheek against Coco's face.

"I love you," mumbled Velvet softly. "How was your day?"

"Eh, nothing too interesting to report," said Coco as she released Velvet from her embrace and stretched "Just another boring day. How about you?"

"It was the same, I suppose. I did see Ruby after class though."

"Oh yeah? How was that?"

"It was quite fun, actually. She caught me taking a candid photo of her and it just kind of went from there."

"That's cool. Do you care if I look at the pictures?"

"Um, well, no, I suppose not." Velvet started to worry again as she handed the camera over to Coco. She was going to see how much fun she was having with Ruby and get jealous. Things were already complicated enough for Velvet without adding a surly girlfriend on top of everything. Meanwhile, Coco scanned through the photos and got progressively more and more impressed.

"Damn Velvet, this is some of your best work yet. I know you think you're no good but I'm telling you babe, you've got a gift. Just think about what a dual threat you could be. Not only do you kill Grimm better than anyone but you document it too. We could make you so famous." Velvet's attention waned as Coco went through her spiel. It honestly did flatter Velvet that Coco thought so highly of her and her talents. But she had more important things to worry about right now. Namely, what she was going to do about this whole Ruby situation. Sure, she might be out of the woods as far as Coco being jealous about the pictures. But there was still a whole other emotional minefield to navigate.

"Hey, Remnant to Velvet? Hello? You in there?" Coco snapped her fingers in front of Velvet's glazed over eyes.

"Huh? What?"

"Hey, you okay? You look really tense."

"I'm fine," said Velvet halfheartedly, trying to put on a smile to prove it. Coco simply sighed in frustration and removed her glasses. Now Velvet knew she was definitely in for it since Coco only removed her glasses when she was sleeping, bathing or about to get serious.

"Velvet, you promised me you wouldn't shut me out like this," said Coco softy as she kneeled down next to Velvet's chair and placed her hand over Velvet's. "I can clearly see that something's wrong. Come on, talk to me about it."

Velvet hung her head as her ears drooped. There was no way she was going to get out of this. This was it, everything was about to be ruined. Her relationship was about to go up in smoke and she couldn't find a way to stop it from happening. "I'm really scared," she finally whimpered.

"I can tell. What about?"

"I…I think that I like Ruby. A lot."

"Oh…" Coco said in surprise as her eyes grew wide. That certainly wasn't what she figured was wrong.

"I'm so sorry. Please don't be mad." Velvet couldn't keep it together any longer and burst into tears. Coco immediately moved forward to embrace her and allowed her girlfriend to cry into her shoulder. Even though Coco was slightly baffled as to why this was affecting Velvet so much, she knew that right now the most important thing was to try and ease her worries.

"Sweetheart, it's okay. Don't cry," Coco whispered softly to Velvet as she gently stroked her hair. "Why would I be mad? There's nothing wrong with liking Ruby. She's a great kid."

"But what about you? What about us?" Velvet finally asked as she continued to weep. "We've been together for awhile and now I've gone and fallen for someone else."

"You still love me too, dontcha?"

"Yes, of course," Velvet said with conviction as she sat back up away from Coco's embrace. But her face betrayed her uncertainty. "At least, I think so. This is all so confusing."

"Well if you still love me then I don't see what the problem is. You should ask Ruby out sometime; it'll make you feel better."

"Ask her out? Have you gone mad?" Velvet asked in horror

"What's wrong with that? You liked me enough to ask me out. Just ask her out too."

"That's completely preposterous, Coco!" Velvet blustered. Now she was starting to get frustrated. What in the name of Oum was Coco playing at? "Have you completely forgotten the fact that I'm already dating you?"

"Yeah, so? Why should that stop you from having another girlfriend?" Velvet began gasping and squeaking in shock in a way that was completely adorable and made Coco want to hug her even more.

"Another girlfriend?! You have gone mad. Are you trying to tell me that you would be agreeable to me having another girlfriend in addition to you?"

"Yeah, I don't see a problem with it," said Coco as she shrugged and relaxed her arms behind her head. "So long as you make it clear to her that you and I are still together and you don't go sneaking around to see her without telling me you're going out, I don't mind. Otherwise, go nuts."

"Clearly you already have," huffed Velvet under her breath. "Seriously, do you have any idea how insane you sound right now? The thought of having more than one relationship is completely wrong."

"I'll grant you that it's unusual," replied Coco, putting up a finger to concede the point. "But as long as everyone is cool with it, having multiple partners can totally work. I have a cousin back home who has a boyfriend and a girlfriend and they all love each other to death. Honestly, they're probably the most stable relationship I've ever seen. Plus, they make family gatherings fun when they get all the old folks pissed about what degenerates they are."

"So, you're telling me this is actually a thing people do? And everyone is okay with it?"

"Yeah, it's totally cool. I mean again, it's rare to find but there's nothing illegal about it or anything. It's just different."

"Very well," Velvet said slowly, deep in thought. This revelation from Coco about her family and her thoughts on relationships was rocking her beliefs to their foundation. She decided to switch tactics. "So what makes you think that Ruby would even agree to such a bizarre idea?"

"I don't know if she'd be down or not. But it doesn't hurt to ask."

"I can't believe I'm actually having this conversation with you right now," said Velvet as she shook her head in disbelief. "You're really serious about this, aren't you?"

"Yes Velvet, I am," answered Coco in annoyance. How many times was she going to have to say this before it sunk in? "I'm not trying to trick you or mislead you or hurt you or anything. You're a really amazing person and it seems selfish of me to hog you all to myself. So if you really like Ruby and she really makes you happy and you think you'd have fun with her, then ask her out. If she says yes, great. If she doesn't, that's her loss. No matter what you decide to do, I love you to death and will always be here for you."

"But how can you be so confident about this? Aren't you worried that I might end up loving Ruby more than you? Or that I'll completely leave you for her?" Ah, there was the real problem. Coco let out a breath of relief that she'd finally managed to crack the true problem that Velvet was having. Smiling, Coco leaned forward and kissed Velvet on her forehead. She then repeated the action on Velvet's eyebrows, cheeks, tip of her nose, chin and then finally finished with a short peck on her lips.

"Velvet, I've known you for over a year now. In all that time, you have never made me worry that you're untrustworthy in regards to anything. So no, I don't think you'd suddenly start now. And I know that you love me too much to cut me out of your life entirely just because. Nor do I think Ruby would ever do anything like ask you to leave me so you'd be with her exclusively. So as far as I'm concerned, I have nothing to worry about beyond making sure you know how much I love you and support you and want to see you smile. No matter who's putting it on your face."

"Gosh, this is not how I thought this conversation would go at all," Velvet chuckled. She still wasn't entirely convinced that she wasn't dreaming up this whole wacky day. "But thank you so much for being so understanding. Even if you've given me even more to think about now."

"Well like I said, no matter what you choose to do, I support it." Coco reached out and gave Velvet's hand a soft squeeze. "So, what do you think you're going to do?"

"I don't know. This is all so new and sudden. I have a lot of options I have to consider now. One thing is for sure though. I need a long soak in the bath."

"Okay, you go pamper yourself, love. I've gotta get cracking on my homework anyway." Velvet rose to her feet and stretched. But as she made to move for the bathroom, Coco slid in front of her to block her path. Coco took Velvet's chin and made her look up at her. Velvet was greeted with the most smoldering look she'd ever seen Coco give her. Coco then leaned down and captured Velvet's lips with a kiss that was as passionate as her gaze had been. Velvet couldn't stifle a moan as she felt her knees start to go weak.

"I love you, okay?" Coco whispered against her lips. "And as long as you'll have me, I have no intention of stopping."

"I love you too. Thank you for being mine." Satisfied, Coco finally let Velvet pass. Normally, she'd give Velvet's ample rump a squeeze as she passed but she restrained herself since she knew how conflicted Velvet was at the moment. Velvet entered the bathroom and began running the water. As the tub filled, she gathered up her special soaps and additives that she kept reserved for special occasions to help her relax. She looked up into the mirror and let out a deep sigh as she saw just how tired she looked. This had been a much longer, weirder day than she had counted on and she was completely spent. But now all that was left was to soak in the tub and think about how much had changed in just a few hours.

**_To be continued…_ **


	3. Chapter 3

It was a hot, sunny, perfect day out and Coco let out a drawn out sigh of bliss. She laid back on her towel and looked at the bright, blue sky. While she didn't abuse her family's wealth as much as people might assume, having lien definitely had its perks. And when it came to reserving a private beach for her and her beloved for the day, this was definitely money well spent. Coco closed her eyes and zoned out as she felt the sun working its magic on her skin. It's not that she minded playing around in the water like Velvet did but right now she just needed some beauty time.

"Hey," a voice called out. Coco looked up to see Ruby Rose standing in front of her. She must have just come from the ocean as her hair and skin was still dripping with water.

"Hey yourself," Coco replied with a toothy grin. "Have enough of goofing around in the water?"

"Nah, not really. But Velvet found some baby turtles and just had to take a ton of pictures of them. So I figured I'd see how you were doing."

"I'm great but I'm even better now that you're here. Wanna join me?"

"I'd love to." Ruby laid her towel out next to Coco's and carefully sat down to try and keep as much sand off it as possible. Coco handed Ruby her bottle of suntan lotion and Ruby began applying a coat to her arms and legs.

"Want me to get your back?" Coco asked.

"Sure." Ruby laid down on her stomach and got comfortable. Coco unlaced the stringy black strap of Ruby's bikini and squeezed a large drop of lotion between Ruby's shoulder blades. She then began massaging it into Ruby's back and shoulders.

"I bet this will be the first tan that your pasty butt has had in years," teased Coco.

"Hey, you like my butt no matter what color it is." Ruby shook it from side to side to emphasize her point and Coco laughed.

"You've got me there." Coco finished her work and rubbed the excess lotion off on her towel. "All set."

"Mmm, please don't stop," whined Ruby.

"But you're already all lotioned up, silly."

"Don't care. You feel too good and I refuse to let you stop touching me."

"Twist my arm," chuckled Coco as she added more lotion to Ruby's back before getting up off her towel and climbing astride Ruby. She then resumed her back massage, trying to rub all of the tension out of Ruby.

"Dust, that feels so good," Ruby moaned in appreciation. "Your hands are so amazing."

"Well your skin feels pretty incredible too," Coco purred as she laid herself down completely on top of Ruby. She kissed Ruby on the cheek and Ruby whimpered.

"I love you," whispered Ruby as she craned her head around to quickly peck Coco on the lips.

"Love you too," Coco whispered in her ear. She then dipped her head down to Ruby's eye level and greeted her with a longer kiss. Ruby strained against Coco, trying to get her body in a more comfortable position to keep kissing her in. Coco pushed herself up slightly and allowed Ruby to roll herself over onto her back. Ruby became aware that her bare breasts were now completely exposed and quickly covered herself up with her hands which made Coco pout.

"We shouldn't go to far without Velvet," said Ruby in a tone that clearly indicated she didn't want to heed her own warning. "She'll be upset if we start without her."

"She knows where to find us and once she's done playing with the turtles, she is more than welcome to join us." Coco then grabbed Ruby's wrists and pulled her hands away from her chest. As Coco stared hungrily at the half-naked Ruby lying beneath her, Ruby decided to run her hands along Coco's taut stomach, drawing a shiver from the older woman.

"You're so beautiful," said a mesmerized Ruby. "I can't believe a goddess like you can love someone as plain as me."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short. You're absolutely stunning as well, okay?"

"Will you make me feel as beautiful as you think I am?"

"With pleasure." Coco reached behind Ruby's neck and pulled her head up until the two met in a smoldering kiss. The two shared a mutual moan as Coco's tongue slid into Ruby's mouth. Ruby's hands dragged down Coco's sides until they both found their way to her ass and she gave it a firm squeeze. Coco ground her hips down in response and slowly began reaching for the soft swell of Ruby's breast.

**_BOOM!_ **

Coco's eyes flew open and found herself back in her bed at Beacon. The rain outside had built into an impressive thunderstorm that was now rattling the windows with all the rain and wind. Coco whined to herself partly from annoyance of being woken up but also that now her dream was over. It had been awhile since Coco had a dream that was that explicit that she could still remember every detail about.

Another loud crack of thunder echoed throughout the room and Coco groaned as she came to terms with the fact that she wouldn't be returning to sleep anytime soon. It was already a difficult prospect considering how loud Yatsuhashi could snore. But with this storm tacked on, there was no way in hell that she'd be sleeping again for a while. Instead, Coco stared at the ceiling and replayed her dream in her imagination.

Like most students attending Beacon this year, Coco found Ruby to be, at the very least, completely adorable. Sure, her sense of fashion was borderline criminal but she rocked her little gothic lolita aesthetic without any sort of care for if anyone liked it or not. So Coco definitely had to give her points for confidence in that regard. But she'd never imagined her in the sort of scenario that had just happened in her head. And it was starting to worry Coco a little about what having a dream like that meant.

There was no way that she could have feelings for the younger girl as well, right? This had to just be because of that talk she had with Velvet about her. Yet as Coco's mind drifted once again to the thought of sitting on top of Ruby and kissing her deeply, Coco had to admit that the idea wasn't unpleasant at all to her. It was actually starting to excite her a little as she noticed she had began rubbing her thighs against each other. This was not good.

Coco threw off her blanket in frustration and climbed out of bed, needing a change of scenery to think. She headed for the door of the dorm but stopped when she saw Velvet's camera still sitting on the desk. After taking a moment to make sure everyone else was still asleep, Coco picked the camera up and exited the room. She made her way to the nearest common room and found a few other students who had also had their sleep disturbed by the weather. Coco made herself a mug of hot chocolate and then sat down by herself to make it clear she wasn't wanting to socialize. She turned on Velvet's camera and began leafing through the photos she'd taken with Ruby again. As she studied each photo, her attention would always get drawn to Ruby. It was fascinating to Coco how even in still photos, her silver eyes always seemed to be twinkling. Coco was so focused on the camera that she didn't notice the subject of the photos slowly shuffling over to her.

"Hey Coco," Ruby said. Coco jumped in surprise and looked up from the camera to see Ruby Rose standing before her, wearing just as big of a smile as she had with Velvet. She had her own mug of cocoa in her hand that was perilously overflowing with marshmallows. Coco felt all of her body go warm at the sight of Ruby but she managed to regain her composure and flash a dazzling smile of her own at her.

"Oh, hey there Ruby, what's up?" Coco asked politely as she set the camera down beside her and motioned for Ruby to sit down. Ruby obliged and blew some steam away from her mug to try and cool it faster.

"Storm woke you up too, huh?"

"Yeah, sure did," grumbled Coco. "Class is gonna suck even more than usual tomorrow thanks to this lost sleep."

"I hate storms," said Ruby quietly as she stared into her mug. "They always make me think of…that night." Coco glanced over at Ruby and noticed how dark her face had gotten. Gone was the joy and light of a few moments ago. Now Ruby looked years older and far more tired. Her eyes were the most troubling as they'd simply gone blank and lifeless. An uncomfortable silence hung between them as Coco wasn't really sure how to properly respond to that statement without making things worse. A small part of her wanted to hug Ruby until she couldn't breathe but she quickly shut down that desire. Ruby took a sip from her mug and suddenly returned to normal as if nothing had happened.

"So, what were you doing with Velvet's camera?" Ruby asked brightly.

"Oh, well, um," stammered Coco as she was a bit blindsided by the sudden change in mood. "She was showing me the pictures you two took earlier. And I just wanted another look at them. It sounds like you two had a really fun time. Velvet loves the times you two spend together."

"Yeah, Velvet's great. I just wish I knew what happened to her at the end there."

"What do you mean?"

"When it started raining, she just kinda spaced out. I don't know what was wrong because she wouldn't say anything. I hope she's alright."

"Don't you worry, she's fine," said Coco with a knowing smile. She had a pretty educated guess as to why Velvet was acting weird. The poor bun was probably all stressed about how she was feeling about Ruby.

"Okay, that's good. I was kinda worried that I had done something wrong."

"Nah, you're great. And I'm damn glad of it too. It's nice to know that even if I can't be there, Velvet has somebody there to watch her back and make her happy."

"Wow, thanks Coco." Ruby tried to hide her face as a small blush appeared on her cheeks but Coco spotted it and felt her heart melt. "You know, I think this may be the first time I've ever seen you without your glasses and beret. You look really great. I mean, not that you don't look great wearing them, too. You always look awesome. But seeing you like this is kinda cool too."

"That's very sweet of you, Ruby. Thank you." Coco reached out and playfully rumpled Ruby's hair. Ruby giggled and it was so cute that Coco couldn't help giggling as well. The two then took sips from their mugs and Coco caught a whiff of Ruby's strawberry scented shampoo. The scent was intoxicating and for a split second, Coco considered burying her face in Ruby's hair so she could be engulfed by the wonderful aroma.

"There you are! I've been worried sick!" Coco looked up to see Velvet standing in the entryway of the common room and looking frazzled. As soon as she saw that Coco was with Ruby, Velvet immediately went beet red since she wasn't in the most appropriate state of dress right now. She had only thrown on a thin, satin robe that was haphazardly tied together so glimpses of her underwear could be plainly seen. Ruby waved Velvet over and requested she join them. Against her better instincts, Velvet obliged and sat down on the arm of the couch near Coco.

"Sorry, Velvs," said Coco sheepishly as she lightly stroked Velvet's bare thigh. "The storm woke me up and I needed something to calm my nerves."

"Want me to make you a mug too, Velvet?" Ruby asked enthusiastically.

"That's very kind of you Ruby, but I'm okay," replied Velvet in a voice higher than usual. Coco sniggered to herself as Velvet awkwardly cleared her throat to try and remedy that problem.

"Okay then. I should get back to my room anyway. It was good seeing you Coco!"

"You too, Ruby. Sleep well," Coco responded. Ruby gulped down the rest of her drink before standing up and placing her mug in the dishwasher. She then went to leave but then stopped and walked back over to Velvet. She paused for a second as the thought of what she wanted to say and Velvet held her breath in apprehension.

"Velvet," Ruby began shakily as she struggled to look Velvet in the eye, "if I did or said something earlier that made you upset, I'm really sorry. I was just goofing off and wasn't trying to hurt you at all. You're a really great friend and I don't want things to be screwed up between us. I hope you can forgive me if I did."

"Oh, Ruby, don't fret. Everything is wonderful between us, okay? If anything, I should be apologizing for how rude It must have seemed like I was being. I just was preoccupied worrying about my uniform and how much trouble it was going to be to clean. We're absolutely still friends, okay?"

"Okay," said Ruby with a relieved smile. Without warning, Ruby then darted forward and wrapped Velvet up in a tight hug. Velvet briefly went rigid in surprise but soon relaxed and returned the embrace. Ruby released Velvet and gave a final wave goodbye before speeding away to her dorm. Velvet groaned and flopped overdramatically off of the sofa arm and onto Coco's lap. Coco simply smirked at the antics of her girlfriend and began lightly rubbing Velvet's scalp.

"She sure is something, isn't she Velvet?" Velvet simply nodded in confirmation before sitting back up.

"It's late. We should really get back to bed."

"Sounds good to me." Coco stood up and brought her empty mug to the dishwasher where she placed it right next to Ruby's. When she turned back towards the sofa, she saw Velvet holding her camera and looking confused.

"Is there any particular reason that you brought my camera with you here?" Velvet asked indignantly.

"I'll tell you on the way. Let's head back." Velvet eyed Coco suspiciously but acquiesced and rose back to her feet. The two then set off towards their room with Velvet impatiently waiting for an explanation from Coco as to why she had taken her most prized possession without permission to do so.

"Well?" Velvet demanded.

"Before the storm so rudely woke me up, I was having a dream where Ruby was involved. And let's just say that I won't be rushing to tell my mother about what was happening in it anytime soon if you catch my drift." Velvet thought for a second about what that could mean but she soon understood the meaning and went red again. "Anyway," continued Coco, "she was weighing on my mind and I just wanted to get another look at her was all. But then the real thing showed up and you know the rest."

"Oh. I see." Velvet certainly wasn't expecting that for an answer and was just left with more questions. But it was late and she was tired so she didn't press for any further details. The two walked in silence the rest of the way through the halls until they reached their dorm. But just as Velvet was about to open the door, Coco reached out and stopped her.

"Wait, before we head in, can I ask you something?" Velvet cocked her eyebrow inquisitively but nodded for Coco to continue. "Be honest with me here, okay? You've spent more time with Ruby than I have. What is about her that you like so much? I can see she's cute as hell but what else is it that makes you go weak?"

"Well," began Velvet slowly as she pondered how to best put her answer, "I guess what I really love about her is how genuinely good she is as a person. I don't believe she had a hateful or prejudiced cell in her body. All she cares about is doing the right thing and making the world a better place. No matter what that entails, she will do it. It doesn't matter to her how impossible it may seem or who else is helping her. She will do whatever it takes to help someone or correct an injustice. And she doesn't want anything like fame or glory or anything like that. She just wants the world to know that when they're in trouble, she will fight as hard as she can to help them."

"Wow, she sounds a lot like you," said Coco with a warm smile. Velvet couldn't help smiling as well from the compliment. " So, have you thought at all about if you're going to pursue her or not?

"A little. It sounds so simple and yet complicated at the same time."

"Well, I'd like to propose an alteration to my original suggestion. How about both of us take her on a date together?"

"Wait, both of us? Now you like Ruby too?" Velvet asked incredulously. Now what was her crazy girlfriend scheming in that head of hers?

"I may not know her as well as you do yet. But I can't deny that she had several qualities about her that I find attractive. And I'd like to try and learn more about her. I mean, if you like her so much, I can't imagine why I wouldn't too since you're one of the best judges of character I know. So what do you think? Should we ask Ruby out?"

Velvet thought for a few moments, weighing her options in her head. What Coco was saying did make sense, as much as she hated to admit it. And she did think that if they spent some time together that Ruby would definitely be able to hit it off with Coco. Finally, she sighed heavily and said, "I still think this is more than a little ludicrous. But I suppose it would be easier for me to do this if I knew you were coming along too. Okay, I'll do it."

Coco beamed and hugged Velvet gently. "Trust me," she told Velvet, "I really think this could work. And if it does, I think all three of us are going to be very pleased with the results."

"If you say so," yawned Velvet. "But seriously, let's get to bed." Before Velvet knew what was happening, Coco had scooped her up in a bridal carry and opened the door. Velvet was too tired to protest and allowed Coco to carry her to bed and tuck her in. Velvet kissed her goodnight and then drifted back off to sleep. Coco then brought Velvet's camera back to the desk but before she set it down, she stole one last glance at a picture where both Ruby and Velvet had huge smiles. Coco smiled to herself looking at it and vowed to do what she could to try and make both of them smile like that as much as possible.

**_To be continued…_ **


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This next part was all supposed to be one chapter but it kind of got out of hand. So I decided to split it into two chapters instead. Be on the lookout for Chapter 5 tomorrow!

Several days had passed since that night and today was the day that Velvet was definitely going to ask Ruby out. Or at least she planned on attempting to do it. She was currently camped out in the Beacon Library hoping for a chance to talk to Ruby alone but that was proving troublesome. The entirety of Team RWBY were all studying together and Ruby had yet to break away from the table to do anything like go find a book or use the restroom. So Velvet simply waited and watched their table through a hole she'd created by removing some books on a shelf nearby.

In the time since she'd made her confession to Coco about her feelings for Ruby and Coco had come up with this plan to ask her out, things had changed in regards to Velvet's position on this whole potential relationship. Coco had taken the liberty of sending Velvet a bunch of different research and studies about polyamory and it definitely helped put her mind at rest. This was, in fact, something that existed in the world and the people who practiced it weren't strange freakos or perverts or anything like she had feared. They just happened to love multiple people all at once. What really surprised her was how accepting the boys on her team were when they were informed of the plans. It made perfect sense to both of them that this was feasible so Velvet had to wonder just how sheltered she really was from the rest of society.

Now came the toughest part of any potential date and that was actually asking out the other person. It was already stressful enough to go through this under normal circumstances. But doing it when you're already dating someone else and you're also asking out your crush on their behalf as well? It had fried each end every one of Velvet's nerves to their breaking point. She checked on the team again and saw that Blake Belladonna had left the group in the time since she last peeked. Velvet made a quick scan in as much of her peripheral vision as she could to try and find the fellow Faunus but suddenly a head popped into her view from the other side and Velvet was eye to eye with a familiar set of amber eyes. Velvet jumped back in surprise right into a cart full of books that she'd forgotten was behind her. As she nursed her bruised ego and other bumps and bruises from the fall, Blake rounded the corner looking cross and stared at Velvet.

"Goodness Blake, you startled me!" Velvet winced as she tried to pick herself up from the pile of books and twisted remains of the cart with as much dignity as she could.

"You mind telling me why you were spying on us?" Blake asked curtly.

"Spying on you? I don't know what you mean," stammered Velvet. Blake simply walked over to where Velvet had been standing and looked through the hole to see her teammates all looking concerned about the loud crash Velvet made when she fell. Blake turned back to look at Velvet with her eyes narrowed in displeasure.

"I've been watching you watch us for a half hour now. So do me a favor and explain yourself."

"Okay," Velvet began as she guiltily stared at the floor and shuffled her feet, "the truth is that I need to talk to Ruby but it really needs to be in private and I didn't want to just barge in and interrupt your study group."

"Well wait here then; I'll go get Ruby." Before Velvet could protest, Blake had strode away to go fetch her leader. This was all going so wrong for Velvet. Now she had no time to properly prepare herself to talk to Ruby and she had to tack on the embarrassment of causing a big scene before talking to her. Velvet considered grabbing her things and running for it but then those beautiful silver eyes of Ruby's peeked around the corner and Velvet was rooted where she stood.

"Velvet? You okay? That crash sounded like it hurt," Ruby asked with concern as she walked over to Velvet.

"I'll be fine," said Velvet softly as she looked to the ground again to avoid Ruby's gaze. This had officially turned into a nightmare. Velvet actually looked down to make sure she was still fully clothed since that was about the only way this could be worse.

"What is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Ruby, I can trust you enough to tell you anything, right?"

"Of course Velvet. Why? What's wrong?"

Velvet took a shaky breath to steady herself and finally looked up into Ruby's eyes. She couldn't imagine how pitiful she must have looked to the younger girl. But Velvet only saw concern and trust in her eyes. Finally, she whispered, "I need to confess something to you."

"Okay…" Now Ruby was starting to get kind of nervous.

"I wasn't entirely honest with you the other night in the common room. About why I was so preoccupied after the rain ended our day together."

"What do you mean?"

This was it. There was no turning back after this. Velvet gulped and slowly said, "I…really like you a lot, Ruby."

"I like you too, Velvet. But what does that have to do-"

"No, no, you don't understand," Velvet quickly interrupted. She felt guilty about how rude that was but she had to get this out now. "I like you as in romantically."

"Um…what?" Ruby asked, completely flabbergasted.

"I've had a pretty substantial crush on you for a good while now."

"But you already have a girlfriend Velvet," said Ruby slowly, completely confused about what was happening.

"Well, you see, that's the catch. As it turns out, Coco also happens to feel the same way about you. And we both were wondering if you would be interested in going out on a date with both of us this weekend?" Velvet added a hopeful little smile to the question to try and stack the odds in her favor. Ruby's eyes went wide at a speed that shouldn't have been possible.

"I…you…what…both of you? You both want to take me out?" Ruby squeaked as she hyperventilated a little.

"If you'd like, of course," Velvet said quickly to try and put her back at ease. "I know this sounds incredibly strange but Coco assures me that it's perfectly acceptable to do as long as everyone involved agrees to the terms."

"And what would those terms be?" Ruby's curiosity was somehow managing to overpower her logic which was screaming at her how wrong this all was.

"My understanding is that if we chose to move forward with this venture that all three of us would be dating. You'd have both Coco and myself as your girlfriends. And as long as we keep communication with each other open and honest and don't play favorites with one another or neglect someone in order to meet in secrecy, we would be free to pursue the relationship however we chose."

"Wow," Ruby said with her head spinning. This was definitely not a conversation she expected to have today. And having all this be dumped on her was starting to overwhelm her. "Um, this is kind of a lot to take in all at once, Velvet. I've never been asked out before by anyone, let alone two people at the same time."

"I know, and I am sorry that it came about like this," apologized Velvet. She wished there could have been an easier, more normal way to do this. "But Coco figured that since I got on best with you already that I'd be better suited to ask you."

"I guess that does kinda make sense," admitted Ruby. "Still, I really don't know what to think about all of this."

"If it helps, you can think about it and let me know what you'd like to do later?"

"Yeah, definitely," said a relieved Ruby. That definitely took some of the stress away. "I can't make any promises for when 'later' might be, though."

"It's perfectly okay, take as much time as you need. Just do one thing for me if you can?"

"What's that?" Velvet slowly reached out to take Ruby's hand. Ruby caught on to what she was doing and grabbed Velvet's hand first and gave her a comforting squeeze.

"Can we please still be friends no matter what you decide?" Velvet pleaded. This was the thing she was most worried about. She could handle Ruby declining her but if this ended up ruining their friendship, she'd never forgive herself. "I can assure you that I'll be perfectly fine if you choose not to come out with us. But I really don't want this to change our friendship. I value you more as a friend than anything and don't want to have that change."

"Of course Velvet," replied Ruby with no hesitation. "I just need to think about how much I really like you is all. But I'll still always be there for you no matter what. I promise."

"Thank you Ruby. That means a lot." Velvet was so overcome with relief that she actually felt a tear roll down her cheek. "I should be going now, though. I'm sure I've taken up more of your team's time than they'd like."

"Yeah, probably. See you, Velvet." Velvet quickly gathered up her things and sped out of the library, stopping briefly to give some lien to the librarian to pay for the damaged cart. Ruby stayed exactly where she was, though. A numbness swept through her body as she tried to cope with what just happened. After a few minutes of remaining frozen, Ruby turned back and returned to the table with her teammates.

"Finally! Honestly, I could have taken notes on the next five chapters if I didn't have to wait for you," scolded a fuming Weiss Schnee. Ruby offered a weak smile to apologize and took her seat.

"So, what was that all about?" Blake asked. Ruby appeared to not hear her and just kept staring into her lap.

"Ruby? What's wrong? What happened?" Yang asked. She immediately could see something major was bothering Ruby and left her seat to crouch down next to Ruby.

"Um, " stammered Ruby, not sure if she should reveal exactly what happened, "Vel-Velvet asked me out on a date. With her and Coco together."

"WHAT?!" Yang and Weiss both screamed. A chorus of shushing rang out and the RWBY table was surrounded by a lot of dirty looks.

"What did you tell her?" Blake asked, completely nonplussed.

"I said I needed some time to think about it. Anyway, let's get back to our papers." Ruby picked her pen back up but stopped when she saw Weiss packing her things away. "Wait, why are we stopping?"

"Because there's more important things to talk about right now," Weiss answered briskly. "Let me see if I've got this right. Velvet Scarlatina wanted to talk to you in private to tell you that not only does she want to date you but so does her girlfriend?"

"Um, yeah, I think so. Is that a bad thing?"

"No, not necessarily," sneered Weiss. "It's just shocking to me that they'd want to date you of all people."

"Cool it, Ice Queen," hissed Blake. Weiss scowled at Blake using the nickname she knew Weiss hated. "You're not helping. Ruby, what are you thinking about all of this?"

"This is all so overwhelming," said an agitated Ruby as she put her head in her hands. "I didn't think I'd have to be dealing with things like dating for awhile. Everything is happening so fast."

"But you didn't immediately tell her no. Why not?" Weiss asked, genuinely curious for her rationale.

"I don't know. She took me off guard and I don't think I was thinking straight. I'm still not sure if I am or not."

"Yang, what do you make of all this?" Blake asked her teammate. But Yang wasn't listening. She had her eyes closed and her fists clenched.

"Yang," Weiss said sharply to try and get her attention, "Blake asked you a question, you dunce. It's rude to ignore her." But Yang didn't register Weiss's voice either. She began to breathe heavily and her whole body began twitching.

"Uh-oh, we should probably take cover," Ruby said frantically when she noticed her sister. Blake followed orders and started backing away while Ruby dove out of her seat and hid under the table next to theirs.

"Wait, why?" Weiss asked. But before she could get an answer, Yang literally exploded and sent pieces of the table and chairs flying everywhere. The other students in the library fled in a panic for safety as Yang stood seething with rage with fire engulfing her.

"You oaf," coughed Weiss who was now covered in dust and had several scorch marks on her, "look what you've done to my uniform!"

"I'll make it up to you later," Yang growled in a low, dangerous tone. Her usually lilac eyes were instead burning with the most intense shade of red they'd ever seen from the brawler. "But right now, I have business I need to attend to." With that, she stormed out of the library, leaving cracks in the floor as her feet stomped into it.

"Wait," cried Ruby, "where are you going?! Yang, come back!"

"Let her go," bristled Weiss as she tried to brush all the debris off of her. "We won't be accomplices if she decides to blow up the school."

"It's not the school I'm worried about her blowing up." Ruby whined fearfully. She was mostly concerned about Velvet and hoped the Faunus had put enough distance between herself and the library so Yang couldn't find her.

"Okay, back to the issue at hand here," said Blake as she picked up her things to move to a table that was still intact.

"You two can stay here and chat. I need to go change." Weiss then grabbed her bag and left the library in a huff.

"This is why studying is a bad idea, you know," said Ruby halfheartedly, trying to lighten the mood. "Nothing good ever comes from it."

"I'm guessing Velvet and Coco aren't attracted to you for your sense of humor," chuckled Blake.

"So what do you think of all this, Blake?"

Blake shrugged and said, "It's not what I think that matters Ruby, it's what you think."

"Could you at least humor me with your opinion?" Ruby asked in frustration. If she was capable of figuring this out by herself, she wouldn't need to ask for advice. "Is this actually as crazy at it sounds?"

"I will admit that I wouldn't have put lien on something like this happening," conceded Blake. "I didn't take Coco and Velvet to be polyamorous types. But personally, I don't see anything unusual about it."

"Polyamorous?"

"It means 'many loves,'" Blake explained. " There are some people out there who don't feel that they should be restricted by society to have more than one relationship at a time. And if they can find mates who also agree with that belief, they can build big relationships together."

"Oh, so Mom, Dad and Yang's mom were polyamorous then?" Ruby asked as a realization dawned on her.

"Beg pardon?" Blake replied, a bit taken aback.

"Yeah! I found a bunch of love letters they all wrote to each other in Dad's room back home." Ruby suddenly realized she might have divulged too much and leaned to whisper in Blake's ear, "But Yang doesn't know so don't tell her, okay?"

"Uh, sure," said Blake, still a bit confused. "But yeah, basically like that. As long as everyone is aware of the boundaries of the relationship, they can be some of the strongest ones imaginable."

"I'm still not sure what to really think about all that."

"Well then let's focus on things you do know about, okay. Do you like girls, Ruby?"

"Kinda, I guess," admitted Ruby as she nervously rubbed the back of her neck. "I haven't really thought about it too much. I mean yeah, I can totally tell when a girl is super cute and all but I never really considered dating them. Or dating anyone in general."

"But you're not entirely opposed to the idea?"

Ruby considered the question for a moment before answering, "No, I don't think so."

"Alright then," continued Blake, nodding in satisfaction that they were getting somewhere. "Tell me what you think about Velvet then."

"Well, she's a really good friend. I think we click really well because we're both kinda shy and not good at being around most people. But we can open up to each other and I really like that. It makes me feel really good when I can make her smile and laugh and enjoy herself since she spends so much time being nervous and sad."

"How about Coco?"

"She's always been super nice to me whenever we've talked. But I haven't really gotten to know her that well, to be honest. I really would like to, though. She just seems so cool and calm and like nothing fazes her. I really hope that someday I can be a leader like how she is."

"Do you think you're attracted to either of them?"

Ruby let out a little amused snort and said, "I don't think there's a soul here in Beacon who doesn't think Coco is smoking hot."

"I'll agree with that," replied Blake. It was definitely true that there were some students that commanded the hormones of the students of Beacon regardless of their gender or sexuality. And Coco was definitely right at the top of that list.

"But Velvet is definitely really cute too. I love listening to her talk because her accent is so pretty. And when she gets all excited it's so cool to see because her eyes get real big and she gets the biggest smile on her face. Her hair is really nice and soft too. I like how it feels on my face when she hugs me."

Blake pondered what Ruby had just told her for a few moments before she clapped her hands together and said confidently, "I'll be honest with you Ruby, I think you should go out with them."

"For real?" Ruby asked in surprise as her eyes went wide again.

"I do," confirmed Blake. "It seems to me like you definitely like them both. And you said that you wouldn't potentially mind dating a girl. So I think you should go for it."

"A date is such a big step, though," fretted Ruby. "I'm not sure if I'm ready."

"At the very least, I think you should try going with them this one time. Just think of it like you're going to hang out. But it's just the three of you and you all happen to really like each other. If things start getting romantic, great. If not, you're spending time with two of your friends. Either way the day is a win."

"But what do I do if things do get romantic? I've never even kissed anybody yet."

"If you don't want to do anything like that then tell them. I'm sure they won't mind respecting your boundaries. If they do, then they're no good for you in the first place."

"Thanks Blake," said Ruby with a tired smile. This day had been exhausting for her mentally. "You've been a big help."

"No problem Ruby," replied Blake who grinned back and gave her a quick side hug. "Now come on, let's get out of here before Goodwitch arrives and gives us detention for wrecking the place."

The two girls then packed up their supplies and headed back for their room. Ruby was still debating as to what she should do but Blake's talk had definitely made things clearer for her. Now she just had to make her decision and hope that Yang hadn't broken anyone in half from her anger. The only thing that Ruby was certain about was that when she got back to her dorm, she was going to take a nap.

**_To be continued…_ **

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Seeing as I've yet to see anyone claim a name for this ship in all the master posts I've found, I'm officially dubbing the Ruby x Coco x Velvet ship Raspberry Mocha Latte.


	5. Chapter 5

A few hours later, Yang was still stomping through the corridors on her mission to get some answers from Team CFVY. She had initially tried to find Velvet after she left the library and demand an explanation from her. But Velvet had successfully managed to disappear and the enraged blonde gave up the hunt.

Plus, she came to realize that interrogating Velvet for information would just be cruel. The poor thing probably was already frightened enough just to ask Ruby something that outrageous. So Yang would have gotten no joy out of intimidating her. But there was someone who wouldn't be so easy to torment and Yang was pretty sure that she was the true mastermind behind all of this. Yang finally reached the door of the Team CFVY dorm and knocked loudly on the door, leaving behind a small burn mark from her fist. The door swung open and she was greeted by Fox Alistair.

"Hello, Xiao Long," he greeted Yang smugly. Yang faltered a bit at being identified so easily since Fox was allegedly blind.

"Seriously, are you actually blind or are you just screwing with all of us?" Yang asked, more impressed than angry at this point.

"Luna Perfume, tropical shampoo and conditioner mixed with the slightest hint of a forest fire? Who else could it be? That, and you're giving off more heat than a sun lamp right now."

"Whatever," spat Yang. She was already in a foul mood and having her focus be taken away was just making her surlier. "Where's your leader? She and I have something very important to discuss."

"Yo, Coco!" Fox shouted over his shoulder. "Your new girlfriend's sister is here to kick your ass!"

"Be out in a minute!" Coco called faintly from the bathroom. "You boys mind giving us some privacy for some girl talk?"

"You got it," replied Fox as he felt a fresh surge of heat blast him in the face. He turned to smirk at the source who must have been livid after his crack about Yang's sister. But it was too good to pass up. Yang stepped aside to let Fox pass and he was soon followed by the giant figure of Yatsuhashi. Before the taller man left, he paused and gave Yang a look.

"Just so you know," Yatsuhashi began saying to Yang calmly, "we'll be waiting right outside this door if things get out of hand. Don't do anything foolish." With that, he strode by Yang as well and left her free to walk into the dorm room. Yang could hear Coco humming pleasantly to herself from behind the bathroom door and that just fired her up even more. Finally, Coco emerged from the bathroom and treated Yang to a bemused smile as she saw just how agitated Yang already was. Knowing Yang's reputation of being fiercely protective of Ruby and for having a temper that was literally explosive, Coco was not surprised one bit that she was being paid a visit by Yang.

"What can I do for you today, Sunshine?" Coco asked with barely contained amusement.

"You can start with explaining just what in the hell you and your girlfriend are doing," growled Yang, not in the mood for any games with the upperclassman. "What do you want with my sister?"

"Oh, well," began Coco malevolently, "we were hoping to take her out this weekend but we're still not sure what we'd like to do. I suggested the movies but Velvet seems pretty set on a picnic in the forest."

"Don't get cute with me, Adel," snarled Yang through gritted teeth. "I didn't mean what your plans were. I want to know _why_ you want to take Ruby out. "

"Because Velvet and I both like her," said Coco simply.

"And?" Yang asked in annoyance, unsatisfied with Coco's answer.

"And what?"

"That's it? You just 'like' her?"

"Isn't that usually why people ask each other on dates?" Coco knew she was literally playing with fire but it was just too much fun to wind Yang up like this.

"Oum damn it, cut the shit," barked Yang as she started to lose control of her temper. "Explain to me why you two want to take my sister on a date! Don't you two get enough just from each other? Why do you have to drag Ruby into this? What's your game?"

"There's no game," Coco replied, raising her hands in a show of innocence. "Velvet and I both find Ruby to be a very fascinating girl who also happens to be highly attractive so we want to go on a date with her. What's so hard to understand about that?"

"You mean besides the fact that you and Velvet are already dating and shouldn't need to bring my little sister into your business?"

Coco's brow furrowed at that. Yang was starting to get personal and Coco wasn't pleased about it. "Yeah, besides that," she fired back. "Because as far as I'm concerned, there's nothing remotely wrong with bringing Ruby into 'our business.' Assuming that Velvet laid everything out right, she knows exactly what she'd be getting into. So it's really up to Ruby about what she'd like to do at this point. Selfishly, I'm hoping she agrees."

"Alright, fine," sighed Yang as she pinched the bridge of her nose in anger, "we'll ignore the issue of you two wanting to turn my sister into a degenerate. Why exactly would someone like you want to date my sister? I mean, Velvet definitely makes sense, if it wasn't for that whole dating you thing. But I don't get why you would want to date Ruby?"

"First of all, we're not degenerates for liking your sister, got it?" Coco said acidly. Yang had struck a nerve finally and now Coco was through with playing around with her. "Secondly, what exactly do you mean by 'someone like me?' And while we're at it, what did you mean by Velvet making sense? Are you saying you only think a Faunus could like Ruby?"

"No, that's not it," Yang answered a little uncomfortably.

"Then what then? Come on, out with it!" Now Coco was irate. Part of it was at herself for losing control of the situation and allowing Yang to play her instead. But she wasn't going to let anyone tear down her and Velvet like this, especially directly to her face.

"Why would a popular, cool person like you want to date someone like Ruby?" Coco felt like she had been sucker punched by the question. She hadn't expected that to be a factor in Yang's anger with her. But once she regained her faculties, Coco realized that it wasn't implicitly herself that Yang was degrading.

"Yang Xiao Long," Coco began slowly with malice dripping from every syllable, "are you saying that you think 'cool' people couldn't be interested in Ruby?"

"Well, no, not really," stammered Yang. That definitely sounded better in her head. "But don't play dumb, you know what I mean."

"No, I'm afraid I don't," Coco answered icily as she crossed her arms across her chest. "Do you not think Ruby's cool? Do you think she's somehow not worthy of dating me?"

"Look," Yang began defensively in full backpedal mode, "Ruby's great but come on, you have to admit she's kind of a geek. She likes weapons way too much. She doesn't have a ton of friends and has trouble interacting with people. So the rich, popular kids aren't supposed to be interested in people like her, you know? You're supposed to want to be with people like Weiss or Pyrrha. So yeah, I'm kinda confused as to why one of the alphas of this school suddenly wants to go out with my sister. You got a problem with that?"

"Me? I don't have a problem with anything." Coco then began backing down Yang as she glared at the blonde over the top of her sunglasses. "But I think Ruby would definitely have a problem with how little her big sister Yang thinks of her. I mean, all I've ever really heard about you is how much you love your sister and how protective you are of her. But now I can't imagine why you are since you seem to have so many problems with her."

"You don't know anything about me, or Ruby, okay?" Yang shot back hotly, not letting Coco intimidate her. "I don't think I've ever seen you try to hang out with her or anything like that before now so yeah, it's a little out of the blue that you're asking her on a date. I mean, do you even know her favorite color?"

"I'm going to go out on a limb and guess red. With black as a close second."

"Okay, lucky guess." Yang grumbled begrudgingly. "But what's her favorite food? How does she take her coffee? What's her favorite band? When is her birthday? Huh? Do you know any of those things?"

Coco held her glare for a few moments before she sighed and slumped her shoulders in defeat. No, she couldn't answer any of those questions and she could definitely understand why it didn't make her look great that she didn't. Coco pulled off her sunglasses and sat down on her bed. She could see that Yang was still on edge and decided to try and offer an olive branch to try and calm things down.

"Look, Yang, let me be real with you, okay?" Coco asked as she patted a spot at the foot of her bed to ask Yang to sit there.

"About time…" Yang said under her breath as she took up Coco's request and sat cross-legged on the bed. Coco paused for a second to contemplate pushing back against Yang's reaction but decided to let it slide.

"Yes, it's true that I haven't really gotten to know Ruby on a personal level yet. Yes, most of my infatuation with her has to do with her looks and her reputation. But Yang, when I hear the things that Velvet or other students have told me about Ruby, it always gets to me. When I hear about how badly she wants to be a huntress so she can be a guardian for the world even if it means no pay or notoriety, it motivates me. When I hear that she goes and picks a fight with a group of people bigger and older than her because they were bullying someone, it inspires me. Ruby is only 15 and yet she is already the model for how we should strive to be in this world. Ruby makes me want to be a better person because I want to live up to the standard she sets. And I believe that someone as special as she is deserves to have a relationship that's equally as special. Both Velvet and I adore Ruby and want to bring a little bit more happiness into her life. We're not looking to change her or toy with her or anything malicious like that. We just want to try and give her something as remarkable as she is. Because she deserves it. And even if you have issues with me or my lifestyle, I'm sure we can agree on that."

Yang closed her eyes and nodded soberly to herself after Coco had finished her reasoning. She had to admit that she was impressed that Coco had managed to ease a lot of the doubts Yang had about her. Coco genuinely sounded like she wanted the best for Ruby and was willing to do whatever it took to make that happen. When she opened her eyes again, they had returned to their usual lilac hue for the first time in awhile.

"Okay Coco," began Yang calmly, "you were real with me so I'll be real with you as well." Coco nodded and leaned in towards Yang to better pay attention to her. Yang took a deep breath and resumed speaking. "I'm not sure if you know this or not but Ruby's mom passed away over a decade ago."

"No, I didn't know that," said Coco guiltily. "I'm very sorry to hear that."

"It's fine. But that was extremely tough on Ruby and there was a long time where she was constantly mourning. Every single night she'd cry and ask for her mama. It was heartbreaking to hear that. Dad was pretty much doing the same thing so I took it upon myself to try and make things better. I buried any grief I had to make sure that Ruby became happy again. I spent every hour of every day with her. I was her cheerleader when she was trying something new. I was her confidant when she needed to keep a secret. I was her security blanket when she was sad and needed a hug. I saved up my allowances to make sure Ruby had the best birthday presents every year. I watched her grow up into the girl she is now and the one you said you admire so much. I worked my ass off and sacrificed anything I possibly could to put Ruby's smile back on her face."

"You did a spectacular job and deserve a lot of credit for accomplishing that," said Coco honestly. She'd heard the talk about how much Ruby meant to Yang but getting to hear it straight from Yang was incredibly touching to Coco.

"Thanks," replied Yang with a small smile that Coco returned. "Anyway," Yang continued, growing serious again, "this is the first time anyone has made it known to either me or Ruby that they're interested in her romantically. So she doesn't know what she's in for in a relationship. Sure, while her Mom was alive, she and Dad were damn near perfect. They really were that stereotypical sappy couple you'd always see in the movies. But Ruby was too young to really get love like they had. If you and Velvet really think you can keep her happy, then you have my blessing. But if you two end up breaking her heart again and taking that smile away, I guarantee you that any pain that I could inflict on you physically will be nothing compared to the pain you feel when you know you took away her happiness. Trust me, I've had to experience it. It's the worst feeling in the world knowing that she's hurting. So don't screw it up, got it?"

With her piece said, Yang stood up and left the dorm room. Fox and Yatsuhashi filed back in and returned to what they were doing. But neither took notice of Coco and how shellshocked she looked. Yang's warning was definitely more effective than she intended it to be because now Coco's confidence was shattered and she was completely terrified about hurting Ruby. She thought that she had everything under control and flawlessly planned out but suddenly this had gotten a lot bigger than she had anticipated. Coco slowly crumbled down onto her bed and covered her face with her pillow. She was so filled with doubt about if she could make this work that she actually was kind of hoping that Ruby rejected Velvet straight away.

Coco decided she needed some fresh air to think and put her sunglasses back on. She then trudged out the door, desperate to try and come up with a way to make sure this didn't fail. But as she meandered around aimlessly, she suddenly bumped right into someone and knocked them down.

"Oops, I'm sorry!" Coco said in a daze. She automatically reached down to help up whoever she'd just walked into.

"Um, hi Coco," said Ruby quietly. Hearing Ruby's voice broke Coco out of her stupor and she looked down to see the young prodigy splayed out on the ground. Coco felt all of the moisture in her mouth evaporate instantly and she swallowed hard.

"Ruby!" Coco squeaked in a pitch she didn't think her voice was capable of. She cleared her throat frantically as Ruby quietly giggled and took Coco's hand to pull herself up. When she was back on her feet, she let her hand linger in Coco's for a moment, experimenting with how it felt. It felt warm and powerful, much like Coco herself. Ruby felt her heart start to race as she finally released Coco's hand.

"Sorry I bumped into you like that," said Ruby sheepishly. "I wasn't really looking where I was going."

"No, it's my fault," responded Coco, her voice having returned to its normal pitch. "I was just wandering without paying attention. You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm great."

"That's good." A moment passed where both girls stared awkwardly at anything except for each other. "I should probably let you get going, though." Coco finally managed to get out and turned to try and make a quick retreat.

"Wait," called Ruby frantically. "I need to ask you something first! Is what Velvet told me earlier true?"

Coco froze in her tracks and nearly fainted when she heard that question. She gulped and asked Ruby hoarsely, "You know? She actually told you?"

"Uh…yeah," replied Ruby as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet.

"Oh. Okay." Coco's knees began to shake so she leaned against the wall to try and cover it up and to give herself some support. "So, um, what do you think?"

"I, uh," began Ruby uncertainly. This was somehow more intimidating than jumping out of an airship into a pack of Grimm. But she'd done enough thinking; it was time to get this out in the open. "I think I wanna do it."

"Really?" Coco asked incredulously as she stood up straight again.

"Yeah," Ruby said with a smile. Now that she'd gotten that out of her, she felt great and a rush of confidence surged through her. "Yeah, I'd like to go out with you and Velvet sometime."

"That's great!" Coco cheered as she broke into a huge smile.

"Yeah, I'm excited about it. Which is kinda strange because when Velvet asked me, I was really nervous. But now…now it feels like the right thing to do. But do me one favor first, okay?"

"Name it."

"Don't tell Velvet yet, please?" Ruby begged, putting on her best adorable pout that was completely irresistible. "I wanna tell her myself and make it special. I was gonna do it with both of you but I kinda ran into you here first."

"I can do that. I bet Velvet will love whatever you have planned."

"I hope so," said Ruby hopefully as her eyes went wistful. "Anyway, that was all I wanted to ask."

"Okay. I guess I'll be seeing you around, Ruby."

"Yeah, see you." But before she left, Ruby slowly stepped up to Coco and wrapped her arms around her waist. Coco was surprised at first but eventually hugged Ruby back. She felt so small and delicate in her arms and Coco was overwhelmed with the instinct to protect her. Ruby could hear just how hard Coco's heart was beating and she smiled, knowing she was probably causing that to happen. Usually she only felt this safe when she was being hugged by Yang or her dad but this was different. Coco wasn't obligated to love her like her family was; she was choosing to. And Ruby didn't want to let go.

"Thank you," whispered Ruby.

"Hmm?" Coco asked as she snapped out of her trance. "For what, Ruby?"

"For liking me like you do. I didn't think that was ever going to happen."

"Of course it would have," Coco said as she ran her hand into Ruby's hair. "You're too amazing for people to ignore. But I am honored to be one of the first to admit it."

"I'm glad too. I really feel so special now."

"Good, because you are special. It's why we like you so much."

"Thanks, Coco. I really should be getting back now. Have a good night." With that, Ruby finally let go of the taller girl and skipped off down the hall. Coco smiled that she had been given this chance to really make a positive change in Ruby's life. But then Yang's words from before came calling back and tied her stomach up in knots again. Instead of thinking about Ruby smiling and having fun, all she could see in her mind was Ruby slumped over and crying hysterically from something she'd done. Coco felt her stomach lurch and she quickly dashed back for her room. She made it just in time and sped into the bathroom right before the contents of her stomach came back up. When it was finally over, Coco sank to her knees and panted for breath.

"Coco? Are you okay in there?" Yatsuhashi asked worriedly as he knocked lightly on the door.

"Yeah," coughed Coco as she spat some more stomach acid into the toilet. "I'll be okay."

"Anything at all we can get you?" Fox asked this time.

"No, I'm good. Thanks though." The boys must have believed her as they didn't ask any more questions. Coco flushed away the vomit in the toilet and laid down on the tile floor, crying silently to herself. It wasn't supposed to go like this. She was supposed to be the cool, calm and collected mastermind who had everything under control. Now things had gotten so complicated and she just felt helpless. Coco really hoped that Velvet was up to carrying the load for the two of them because she was pretty sure that all she would do now was ruin everything.

Eventually Coco pulled herself up off the floor and looked at herself in the mirror. Her reflection told her that she looked as miserable as she felt. She washed her face and tried to put on a smile to mask the turmoil she was really feeling. But it was no use. Defeated, Coco exited the bathroom and crawled into bed. Yatsuhashi whispered something to Fox and the two of them left to give Coco some space. As more tears spilled out, Coco closed her eyes and tried to sleep, hoping that in the morning, things wouldn't be so grim.

Later that night, Velvet was walking through the halls on her way to a meeting on the roof. Ruby has sent a text to her scroll asking Velvet to meet her there and that it was important. Velvet had been keeping watch over Coco once she'd returned to the dorm and heard she'd gotten sick and was very hesitant to leave. But Fox and Yatsuhashi assured her that they could keep an eye on her for a little bit.

Velvet climbed up a final staircase and reached the door to the roof. She took a moment to compose herself before opening the door and stepping out into the summer night. It was beautiful out tonight as there were no clouds to speak of and the stars were all twinkling brightly. Velvet tore her gaze from the sky and found Ruby sitting on the edge and dangling her feet. She shut the door behind her and that got Ruby's attention as she leaned her head back to see if it was Velvet.

"Hey," greeted Ruby as she couldn't help breaking into a wide grin.

"Hey yourself," replied Velvet who returned the smile. Ruby rolled herself back and sprang up to her feet before walking over to Velvet.

"How are you doing?" Ruby asked.

"I'm okay, I suppose. Coco took ill earlier and so I've been worried about her."

"Oh no," gasped Ruby as her good mood deflated a little bit. "What happened?"

"I'm not entirely sure. Fox and Yatsuhashi said she just came sprinting into the room and puked in the bathroom. Other than that, she hasn't talked to any of us."

"That's awful. I hope she's okay." Ruby couldn't help biting her lip in fear that she might have had something to with Coco getting sick. She really hoped it was just a coincidence.

"Anyway, what did you want to talk to me about?" Velvet asked expectantly.

"Oh, right, that." Ruby had gotten thrown for a loop by the news about Coco and had temporarily forgotten why she was here. "Velvet, I thought a lot about what you asked me in the library today and talked about it with my team. And I think I'm ready to give you an answer."

"Oh. Okay then." Velvet fidgeted nervously. She hadn't counted on Ruby making her decision so quickly. Now she wasn't sure if she should feel hope or dread. Ruby stepped up to Velvet and took both her hands and traced little patterns over her knuckles with her thumbs.

"Velvet, will you go out with me and Coco this weekend?"

"Really?!" Velvet gasped in surprise as her hands flew to her mouth in surprise. "You really want to?"

"I can't imagine anything that I'd like to do more."

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe it." Velvet picked up Ruby and spun her around causing Ruby to let out the most beautiful laugh Velvet had ever heard. She then set Ruby back down and buried her face in Ruby's shoulder. "You're sure? This is really happening?"

"I am sure," confirmed Ruby as she rubbed Velvet's back. "I haven't felt this sure of something since I decided to become a Huntress."

"Thank you," choked out Velvet as she began to cry in elation. "This is so incredible."

"It sure is," hummed Ruby happily. Velvet was hugging her just like Coco did earlier and she felt just as safe in the Faunus's arms as she did in Coco's. These two really were something special and Ruby couldn't help feeling like she was the luckiest girl on Remnant. "Thank you for wanting to be with me. I hope I'm worth it."

"I think you will be just fine," sniffled Velvet. "I already thought you were pretty amazing so I'm hoping you just get better from here."

"Me too."

"Goodness, look at me getting all leaky eyed here," chuckled Velvet as she released Ruby and wiped away at her eyes. "I'm so sorry that I sobbed all over you."

"It's totally fine. I know it was because you're happy and anything that makes you that happy is worth it."

"You really are such a sweetheart," gushed Velvet. "Why'd you bring me up here to tell me, though? You could have just called and told me over the scroll."

"I know," said Ruby as she turned to look up at the sky. "But it's always so pretty up here after dark and I wanted accepting my first date to be memorable."

"It is quite lovely, I'll give you that," Velvet admitted as she stood beside Ruby. "Being surrounded by all these stars and the moon."

"But none of them are as beautiful as you or Coco," Ruby said as she took Velvet's hand again. She then realized what she'd said and gagged in revulsion. Velvet laughed and put her arm around Ruby's shoulders.

"Well, you are definitely gorgeous in your own right, Ms. Rose," giggled Velvet.

"Thanks. But man, did that feel weird to actually say," shuddered Ruby. "I haven't even gone on a proper date yet and I'm already talking like those girls in the movies my team watches."

"You'll get used to it. I never thought I'd say things like that either and really mean them. But the right person can definitely inspire it in you. Or, the right people is what I guess I should say." Velvet looked down at Ruby and smiled warmly at her. Ruby snuggled up against Velvet's chest and listened to her heartbeat. "Anyway, I should probably head back to make sure Coco's still doing okay. Would you like to walk back with me?"

"No thanks, I'd kinda like to stay and watch the stars a little longer. Please tell Coco I hope she'll feel better soon, okay?"

"Of course. Don't stay out here too late or else you'll be getting sick as well."

"I won't, I promise. Good night, Velvet."

"Good night, Ruby. Pleasant dreams."

Velvet blew Ruby a kiss as she left the roof and Ruby laid back down and stared at the stars, grinning like the Cheshire Cat from Alice In Wonderland. She could not believe how amazing she felt right now. Finally she understood what people meant when they talked about having butterflies in their stomach because her insides were flying and jumping all around. Every time Ruby thought about Coco or Velvet, she felt her heart give a jump. Ruby was so brimming with energy that she scrambled to her feet and started doing cartwheels and flips all over the roof, laughing giddily the whole time. This was going to be the best weekend ever.

**_To be concluded…_**


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> About time, huh? Sorry to everyone who's been patiently waiting for this chapter. Between getting sick and writer's block, this chapter fought me as hard as trying to write the first one did. But we're finally here. It's Ruby, Coco and Velvet's big first date together. I hope it's well worth the wait and you all enjoy!

It was the night before her big date and Ruby was in the common room baking a batch of cookies. Her handiwork was baking in the oven so Ruby was sitting on the counter with the mixing bowl and eating the leftover dough. She knew how unhealthy doing that was supposed to be but why would the people who invented cookies make it so delicious then? As Ruby put another spoonful into her mouth, Weiss came storming into the room looking to be in a rotten mood.

"There you are! I've been looking all over this school for you. Although I guess I'm the fool for thinking you'd be somewhere trying to better yourself."

"Oh, hi Weiss," answered Ruby with her mouth full.

"Dear Oum, look at the mess you've made in here, Ruby! I hope you're planning on cleaning up after yourself."

"Duh, why do you think I'm eating this? It's the best way to clean the bowl out. Want some?"

"That…is the most revolting thing I've ever seen in my life," Weiss said in horror as she stared at the spoon Ruby was offering her. "How can you eat that garbage and still claim to be sane?"

"Fine, more for me then." Ruby inserted the spoon in her mouth and Weiss retched as she watched in horror. Ruby laughed to herself as she hopped off the counter and started tidying up. "So Weiss, why are you here, exactly?"

"I'm here because your dunce of a sister was concerned about why you were gone for so long. But of course, she wasn't concerned enough to go try to find you herself. So instead she interrupted my homework and begged me to come find you instead. Now, if you'd hurry up, I'd like to get back to work."

"You know, I'd get out of here faster if you helped me clean," Ruby suggested as she scrubbed out the remainder of the bowl.

"Why should I do that? You're the one who made such a mess. You're the one who should have to clean it."

That did it. Ruby was fed up with Weiss's attitude and had to get to the bottom of it. She threw her washcloth down onto the counter and rounded on the heiress, asking, "Weiss, what is your deal?"

"My deal?" Weiss replied sarcastically. "I don't have any deal with anything, Ruby. I'm just fine."

"You've been treating me like you did when we first met again" accused Ruby. "I thought we were passed that. As team leader, I need to address any conflicts between the four of us to make sure we stay on the same page as a unit. Seriously, what is wrong?"

"The only thing wrong is that I'm trying to actually contribute at this school and not use it as some sort of dating service like everyone else."

"Wait, what? Dating service…" Ruby trailed off in befuddlement but then something clicked in her head. "Weiss, are you mad at me because I'm going on a date?"

"What? No, of course not," Weiss began nervously, realizing she'd said too much. "That's completely preposterous that I would be upset about something so silly. If anything, I'm going to be living it up with all the peace and quiet…all by myself…like before I came here." Weiss trailed off and Ruby could see her defiant attitude deflate. Now all that was left was a very scared and lonely looking girl.

"Do you think I'm abandoning you?" Ruby asked softly as she stepped closer to her partner.

"Why wouldn't you?" Weiss spat bitterly. "I mean, you're on the verge of having two incredibly cool, popular upperclassmen for girlfriends. Why would you possibly want to spend time with me ever again?"

"Weiss, I'm not going to neglect you or our friendship," Ruby tried to reassure her. "But even if I did, what's stopping you from hanging out with other people?"

"Like who, exactly?" Weiss asked wearily. "My closest two confidants in Team CFVY will be preoccupied with you. Team JNPR is always off doing things together and I can't possibly pry Pyrrha away from Jaune or Ren from Nora. I don't fit in with Team SSSN at all and I'd rather gargle bleach than hang around Neptune while he's flirting with anything resembling female anatomy. Hell, Penny can't even spend time with me because she isn't allowed to come socialize with us. Face it Ruby, I'm by myself all over again. You may not think you'll cast me aside but you will. Just like Blake and Yang did when they hooked up last month."

"Wait, I'm sorry, WHAT?! What about Yang and Blake?!"

"Oh dust, you weren't supposed to know that." Weiss whispered to herself as her eyes went wide in horror. An uncomfortable silence lingered in the air that was interrupted by the timer for Ruby's cookies going off. Ruby silently removed the tray from the oven and transferred the cookies to a plate to cool. She then braced herself against the counter and stared at the floor as Weiss slowly edged up next to her.

"Ruby? Are you okay?"

"You're going to have to back up here, Weiss. Blake and my sister are dating now?"

"I wouldn't call it dating in the strictest sense," huffed Weiss indignantly. "More like furiously making out and groping each other when they find more than thirty seconds of time alone."

"So…right now they're…"

"Most likely," Weiss confirmed with a grimace. "I woke up one morning after sleeping in a few weeks ago to see the two of them on Blake's bed with Blake's hand up Yang's shirt and her mouth on her neck. I think you had left early to have a pancake eating contest with Nora that morning. Yang begged me to keep it a secret from everyone. Needless to say, I've had better starts to my day than that one."

Ruby whined as her stomach started hurting from the thought of Blake groping her sister and from the memory of how many pancakes she ate that day. "But why would she want to keep it a secret from me?"

"I wish I had an answer for that because I asked her several times but all she did was insist that I tell nobody. I think they both get off on the whole forbidden relationship possibility and how dangerous it seems."

"Well this is just great. My sister and her partner are keeping secrets from me and my partner is mad at me because she thinks I'm going to abandon her. Real great job you've done fostering a positive team environment there, Rose." Ruby began angrily scrubbing away at the cookie sheet to try and burn off some of her frustration.

"Ruby, I'm sorry for getting cross with you," apologized Weiss gently. "You aren't doing anything wrong by going on a date with Velvet and Coco. I'm just really scared that I'll end up all alone again. I've had to deal with that all my life between my parents and my sister. Then I finally came to Vale and found a bunch of new friends I care about deeply but they've all already decided they'd much rather hang out with each other without me. You're the last one I've got."

"It's okay Weiss, I understand," replied Ruby as she finally turned to face Weiss again. "I know how much it sucks to not have a lot of friends and feeling isolated by them. I'll do everything I possibly can to keep myself involved in your life. After all, we're partners so you're stuck with me now."

"I appreciate that Ruby, thank you." Weiss finally smiled as she could tell Ruby meant her vow.

"But there's still the issue of Yang and Blake trying to keep secrets from me. That still bothers me a lot."

"I'm really sorry that you had to find out about it because of my big mouth. Is there any way I can make it up to you?"

"Maybe…" Ruby rubbed the back of her neck as she hesitated to make her suggestion. "Will you help me get ready tomorrow please? I really need some help picking out an outfit and I should probably actually try wearing some makeup to look my best. But I could use some pointers."

"I'd love to help you. Thanks Ruby. You're the best partner I could have asked for here."

"Now you're just sucking up," Ruby replied with a bemused chuckle. "You and I both know you'd have dropped me for Pyrrha in a heartbeat."

"Okay, guilty as charged," admitted Weiss. "But you're unquestionably second. That's still good, right?"

"It's perfect. Come on, let's get back. The longer we chat out here, the more time Blake and Yang are alone together and I really feel like ruining their night." Ruby grabbed a paper bag and started depositing her cookies into it. But as she turned to leave, Weiss stopped her.

"Um, Ruby?"

"Yeah?"

"C-could I please have a cookie?"

"Of course, Weiss." She fished one out of the bag and handed it to her partner. Weiss took a bite and her eyes fluttered closed when she tasted the treat.

"Mmm…thank you Ruby. It's so tasty. Honestly, your cookies will be the death of my diet if I'm not careful."

"Anytime, partner. Now come on, let's get back to the room." The two then set off and Ruby felt so relieved that she had patched things back up with Weiss. But this bombshell about Yang and Blake was really eating away at her now. Why would Yang not want her to know? As they reached the room, Ruby tried to sneak up to the door and catch the two in the act. But when she threw open the door, all she found was Blake sitting in her bed reading while Yang was in the bathroom. Ruby sighed in defeat and prepared for bed, hoping she could manage to sleep knowing what was happening tomorrow.

The next morning, Coco was in the common room preparing the supplies for their date later. Velvet was getting dressed in the dorm so Coco was packing the picnic basket with the food Velvet had prepared and was making sure she had all her ammo and gear in case any Grimm came along to spoil their fun. Coco had already gotten ready and had chosen a short sleeved brown top for the day with a black skirt and fishnet stockings along with her usual boots.

"Coco, what do you think? Do I look okay?" Coco looked up to see Velvet standing in the doorway of the common room dressed in a white sundress with matching flats and a large sunhat. Coco's jaw fell open as she raised her sunglasses up and propped them on top of her head.

"Whoa," said Coco in awe. "I think I may have just fallen in love with you all over again."

"You are the sweetest," replied Velvet as she broke into a humongous smile. "Oh gosh, I'm so excited! Today is going to be so wonderful. I can feel it."

"I sure hope so," said Coco uncertainly as she replaced her sunglasses over her eyes

"How are you doing today? Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, I'm alright. Just pre-first date jitters, you know?"

"If they're anything like the ones I had before our first proper date, it's no wonder why you haven't been yourself." Coco then walked over to Velvet and hugged her tightly. Velvet was a bit taken aback by this sudden affection but quickly hugged Coco back.

"I love you Velvet. No matter what happens today or from here on out, please don't forget that, okay?"

"I love you too," responded Velvet with concern. "But what's all this about? Are you sure you're okay?"

"I'm really not sure anymore," confessed Coco.

"Do you…want me to call Ruby and cancel?" Velvet asked, dreading Coco's answer.

"Absolutely not," replied Coco immediately and Velvet sighed in relief. "That would devastate her and you. I'm just worried about if I can make Ruby happy. We're her first date ever and I really want to avoid being her first heartbreak if I can."

"Don't fret. You're going to be magnificent like you always are. Today is going to be splendid, you'll see. Now come on, Ruby's probably waiting for us." Velvet picked up the picnic basket and handed Coco a large checkered blanket for her to carry. The two then left for the courtyard where they had agreed to meet. When they arrived, Coco and Velvet were surprised to see that Ruby had not come alone. Her entire team had joined her but by the expressions on everyone's faces except Yang's, she was the only one there willingly.

"Hey Velvet! Hey Coco!" Ruby yelled happily when she saw them as she waved frantically with both her hands.

"Good morning Ruby!" Velvet greeted in response. She then added diplomatically, "And good morning to all of you as well."

"Wow! You look incredible Velvet!" Ruby said in appreciation once she got a closer look at her outfit.

"Yeah, you clean up really nice when you're not in your armor," agreed Blake, nodding in approval.

"You look very lovely as well, Ruby."

Velvet replied. Ruby was dressed in a red button down plaid shirt that she had open over a black tanktop and black skinny jeans with red sneakers. Weiss had also done her makeup so her eyes were much more prominent but didn't go too overboard as per Ruby's instructions.

"Thank you," said Ruby as she flashed a thankful smile to Weiss for her help.

"Any particular reason the rest of you are here as well?" Coco asked sourly.

"I'm here to see my sister off before her first date ever," shot back Yang in defiance.

"And we're here to make sure she actually goes through with it," said Weiss coolly as she shot Yang a disapproving look. Yang chose to ignore Weiss's comment and kneeled down in front of Ruby.

"Ruby, be smart out there. Don't let yourself get pressured into doing anything you don't want to."

"I won't, Yang," growled Ruby, refusing to look Yang in the eye. She really hated that Weiss had managed to talk her out of wearing her hood because she couldn't seek refuge in it right now.

"You know that we're standing right here, right?" Coco asked angrily. "If you have something to say to us then actually say it to us."

"Yeah, for real Yang," agreed Blake, "why couldn't you have done this back in the room? You're acting ridiculous."

"Fine, whatever," mumbled Yang dejectedly. "Come home safe, Ruby." She then gave Ruby a hug that was not returned by her little sister.

"And have fun!" Weiss said cheerfully as she elbowed Yang in the ribs.

"Right, yeah, that too. See you later, sis." Before Yang could say anything else, Blake and Weiss each grabbed one of her arms and dragged her away back towards the school. Ruby stared at the ground fuming, her face red with embarrassment and anger.

"Hey, you okay?" Velvet asked softly as she walked up to Ruby.

"I'll be fine," grumbled Ruby. "I've just never been so humiliated in all my life. I get that Yang's just doing it because she cares but she isn't actually my mom. And I hate it when she tries to act like she is."

"Well let's forget about her and go have a fun day, yeah?" Velvet asked hopefully.

"Yes, please," agreed Ruby as she handed her bag of cookies to Velvet who tucked it away in her basket. The trio then set off for the Emerald Forest. As they walked, Ruby and Velvet walked together up front while Coco lagged behind a few feet. Velvet accused her of just wanting to look at their butts but Coco insisted it was strategic so she could keep watch behind them for Grimm. But her real reasoning was because she was still so nervous about the date and wanted some time alone to think. So she let Velvet and Ruby go on ahead and chat with themselves so she could stew.

Coco was already feeling the pressure of making sure things went well before the day started. But after how upset Ruby was at Yang's farewell, it became even worse since they were already starting on a bad note. She tried to remember her talk with Velvet earlier to inspire her to snap out of it but it wasn't working. However Coco's attention did get diverted after Ruby stripped off her plaid shirt and tied it around her waist. Now there was a lot of creamy white skin and muscle on display from her two dates and Coco had to struggle to keep her stride even. But they were both so distracting with how nice they looked.

"Well, here we are, we made it." Velvet called.

"Whoa! Holy cow!" Ruby said in amazement as they entered a clearing. Coco walked through herself and was also struck dumb by the scene they'd found themselves in. The trees has parted into a beautiful lake area where the water was shimmering like diamonds on the surface. And at the far end was a cliff with a magnificent waterfall cascading into the lake below.

"Wow, this place is gorgeous Velvs," Coco said in awe as she looked around. "How'd you find it?"

"Um, well you see," Velvet began nervously, "last year I was being chased by some bullies and I managed to escape them here in the forest. And I just happened to find this place when I was trying to find my way back home. I made sure to remember exactly where it was because I always knew I'd want to come back someday. And I figured this would be perfect for our first date together."

"Ooh, we should take some pictures while we're here!" Ruby said excitedly. "You did bring your camera, right?"

"Just who do you think you're talking to here?" Velvet asked in mock offense as she pulled her camera from her bag. The three then spent some time all taking pictures of the lake and each other. Coco tried to stay off to the side as much as possible but Ruby kept dragging her into shots with her. When they'd had their fun, Velvet set down the picnic basket and laid out the blanket. Ruby's eyes went wide when she saw a bowl of strawberries inside.

"You brought strawberries too?! How'd you know they were my favorite?"

"Let's just say a little bird happened to tell me in Oobleck's class the other day. Would you like some?"

"Yes, please!" Ruby said as she flopped down on the blanket and kicked her shoes off. Velvet handed her a strawberry and Ruby slowly took a bite, savoring every moment it was in her mouth. Both Coco and Velvet couldn't deny how unintentionally sensual Ruby looked as she ate it and quickly busied themselves with setting up the rest of the food so they didn't get caught staring.

A while later, the food had all been eaten and Ruby brought out the cookies she'd made. As she nibbled on hers, Coco stared vacantly at the waterfall, trying to will herself to keep her lunch in her stomach. She hadn't eaten much of her helping to begin with and thankfully Ruby had politely asked if she could have it instead. But the little bit she had managed to eat was wreaking havoc on her stomach thanks to how stressed she still was.

"Hey, would it be okay if I asked you guys something?"

"Sure, go ahead." Velvet replied.

"Shoot." Coco said shortly.

"Why exactly was I the one you picked to take out like this? Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining at all. I'm just curious as to what makes me so special instead of anyone else."

"For me, that's really easy," Velvet began with a smile. "I like you so much because of how unbelievably good you are. Not just to me but to everyone you come across. You always find the good in people no matter who they are. The way you view the world and how you want to impact it is so inspiring. If the world had more Ruby Rose's in it, Remnant would be the most peaceful, loving place in the universe." Ruby grinned once Velvet had finished. She always said she wasn't in this for things like glory or admiration but it sure did feel good to have someone like Velvet give her all those compliments. The two then looked over at Coco to await her response.

"Um," started Coco uncertainty as she fidgeted around in her seat. "I dunno. I guess it's a lot of the same reasons as Velvet said. You know, you're really nice and you help people and stuff. Wait, that sucked, let me try again. Ruby, I really like you because you…um…I'm sorry, I can't do this right now." Coco stood up and walked away towards the edge of the water with her head in her hands. Velvet and Ruby shared a concerned look before getting to their feet and walking over to join her.

"Coco? What's the matter?" Ruby asked timidly, not wanting to make things any worse.

"I'm sorry Ruby. I'm so sorry," choked out Coco as she fought to keep tears back." Please don't be upset with me."

"Did I do something wrong?"

"No!" Coco said in alarm. "Dust no, Ruby, not at all. It's me who's screwed up."

"Are you feeling sick again? Did some of the food spoil?" Velvet questioned.

"No, that's not it. I mean, I don't feel great but it's not because I caught something."

"Well, what is it then?" Ruby asked.

"I can trust you, right?" Coco asked in desperation.

"Of course," Ruby nodded vigorously. "You can tell me anything."

"I'm scared, Ruby," Coco finally said as she hung her head. "I'm really, really scared."

"How come?"

"Because I don't want to hurt you. And I'm terrified that once you really get to know me that you won't like what you find."

"Sweetheart, what brought all this on?" Velvet asked as she put her arm around Coco's shoulders. "You never worried about things like this when we started going out."

"This is different, Velvs. You and I were roommates for almost a whole school year before your asked me out. You got to see every side of me day after day so there was nothing really left to surprise you with. But with you, Ruby, we haven't really spent a lot of time together before now. What you know about me, the shades, the beret, the swagger, that's only part of who I am. But it's not all of me. And I don't want you to be hurt by any of those parts you haven't seen yet."

"I guess I'm still a little confused, Coco. Why is it so scary?"

"Your sister came to confront me after Velvet asked you out. And she told me about your mom and how devastated you were after she passed. I know that we're your first relationship and I know how terrible it can feel if it goes wrong. I just really don't want us to be responsible for you having to suffer through that. You don't deserve pain like that."

"I swear to dust, one of these days I'm going to staple Yang's big mouth shut. Industrial size." Ruby hissed under her breath. "I really appreciate that you're worried about that, Coco. But I'm not, okay? Right now, all I want is for us to have a good time together. So what can I do to try and make that happen?"

"Could you maybe hug me? And tell me I'm not a screwup? I think I can believe it if I hear you tell me." Ruby was quick to oblige and snaked her arms around Coco's waist, holding her tightly. Velvet also joined as she hugged Coco over her shoulders from behind. Coco closed her eyes and tried to enjoy her current state as much as she could to chase away all the uncertainty she felt.

"You're not a screwup, Coco," said Ruby softly but with total conviction. "I've seen you with Velvet and I know how much you care for her. You have such a big heart and you work so hard to keep her happy and safe. If you care for me like that too, then I'll become just as crazy about you as Velvet is. I know Yang meant well but she didn't have the right to scare you like that. If I was that worried about being hurt, I wouldn't have come out here with you. But I did because I believe in you and I believe in Velvet and I want to have a part of what you two had before me."

"You're one of the strongest and bravest women I know," chimed in Velvet. "You don't back down from anything no matter how big or tough or scary it is. You stand up to it and you fight. When we stated dating, you weren't scared of how it would look to everyone if you dated someone like me. You were willing to fight all of them because you think I'm worth it. Now I'm willing to fight for Ruby because she's worth it. And we're worth fighting for to her. But we need you to help us too. We can't do this without you."

"I know. Thank you both so much. I think I can do this now," said Coco confidently, feeling reaffirmed.

"Good. I love you." Velvet turned Coco's chin towards her and kissed her tenderly. Ruby looked up at them and felt her knees go weak like they usually did when she saw a new weapon or mech. That kiss looked like the most amazing thing in the world and she found herself wanting some of that as well. Velvet pulled away from Coco and noticed how enthralled Ruby looked.

"I love you too, Velvet," mumbled Coco serenely with her eyes still closed.

"Ruby, would you like to kiss Coco as well?" Velvet asked the smaller girl.

"Is that okay?"

"I don't have any problems with it. Do you, Coco?"

"No, I guess not. Are you sure though Ruby? Have you ever kissed anyone before?"

"No, I haven't. But I would really like it if you would be my first."

"It would mean a lot to me if I was, too." Velvet let go of Coco and stepped away to let Ruby and Coco have their moment. Coco wet her lips and went to move in but Ruby stopped her. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

"There's something I'd like to do first." Ruby reached up and gently removed Coco's sunglasses. Coco froze and looked around nervously as Ruby also removed her beret. She set the glasses inside the beret and placed them on the blanket."

"W-What are you doing?"

"You said the glasses and beret weren't all you are, right? Then I want to properly meet the you that isn't them. I like that Coco a lot but this is the one I really want to see."

Ruby stood right in front of Coco and looked up into her dark brown eyes. She looked so vulnerable without her glasses. Ruby reached up and took Coco's signature long lock of hair between her fingers and slowly brushed down the length of it until she reached the caramel colored tip at the end. Coco shivered as she reached out and gently stroked her finger down Ruby's cheek. Ruby closed her eyes and nuzzled against Coco's hand. When she opened her eyes, Coco silently asked if it was okay to continue and Ruby gave a small nod.

Coco craned down and moved in towards Ruby's lips. They made contact and Coco noted that Ruby hadn't been smartened up to wet her lips as her lips were still dry and rough. Coco gave Ruby a few small pecks before darting her tongue out and swiping it quickly across Ruby's lips. Ruby's eyes flew open and she sharply inhaled through her nose at how that felt. But soon she let out a soft little whimper as her eyes fluttered closed again.

"Was that okay?" Coco whispered once she felt Ruby react.

"Dust yes," gasped Ruby. "Please do that again?"

Once again, she ran her tongue over Ruby's lips and this time they parted and allowed Coco access to her mouth. Their tongues met and lightly brushed against each other, sending goosebumps rocketing down Ruby's back. Ruby couldn't hold back a moan as she put her hand on the back of Coco's head and pushed her in closer to try and make the kiss even deeper. Coco reacted positively as she gently nibbled on Ruby's bottom lip. Suddenly there was a loud clicking noise and Ruby's eyes flew open, ready to defend against any intrusion. But after a quick scan around without breaking their kiss, both girls glanced over at Velvet and saw she had her camera out with a mesmerized look on her face.

"I'm sorry. I couldn't resist it," whispered Velvet. "This is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen in my life."

Coco rolled her eyes but Ruby giggled and jumped up onto Coco. Coco was surprised but managed to maintain her balance as Ruby wrapped her legs around Coco's torso and locked her heels. Now she was face to face with the taller girl and Ruby gave her a small smile to reassure her. Coco returned the smile and leaned in to kiss Ruby again. Ruby's hands found their way into Coco's hair and she traced her fingers across Coco's scalp. Coco held onto Ruby by the small of her back but reached down with her other hand to give Ruby's butt a squeeze. As they continued to make out, Velvet was frantically taking pictures, trying to make sure she got both girls in frame with the waterfall but her shaking hands were making it difficult.

Finally, Ruby broke apart from Coco and nuzzled her forehead against Coco's neck as she whispered, "Wow…"

"Yeah, wow," agreed Coco as she set Ruby back down on the ground. She then looked over and saw Velvet trembling as she struggled to put her camera back away. Coco smiled in bemusement and called over to her, "Hey Velvet, you wanna get in on this too?"

"Yes!" Velvet yelped instantly but then realized how rude that must have sounded. She cleared her throat and said more evenly, "I mean, if Ruby would like to, of course."

"I absolutely would," said Ruby as she strode over to Velvet. She reached up and brushed Velvet's hair away from her face and Velvet felt her cheeks get warm from Ruby's touch. Ruby then stood on her tiptoes and brought her lips to Velvet's. There wasn't as much lust and intensity from Velvet as there had been from Coco but Ruby could still feel an equal amount of passion from the Faunus in her kiss. Coco took it upon herself to take Velvet's camera and snap a few pictures of her own. She had to admit that Velvet was right about how incredibly beautiful it looked to see Ruby kissing her girlfriend. As much as she had enjoyed her own kisses with Ruby, Coco would have been content to watch this forever. She then got a brilliant idea and put Velvet's camera away before walking up next to Ruby.

"Ruby," Coco whispered in her ear, "Velvet loves it when she gets kissed on her neck. You should try it." Ruby nodded and broke free from Velvet's lips. She then kissed her way down Velvet's cheek and jaw before finding the soft flesh of her neck and peppering it with kisses. Velvet let out a whimper as her breathing became labored. Coco didn't help the situation at all as she stood beside Velvet and started kissing the other side of her neck as well. Velvet emitted a moan that was borderline pornographic as she struggled to keep herself standing.

"Okay, okay, that's too much! I need a break!" Velvet squeaked. Coco and Ruby both obliged and backed away to allow Velvet a chance to regain her breath.

"Did that not feel good?" Coco asked, worried that her plan had backfired.

"No, it was exhilarating," sighed Velvet in bliss. "But it was just a little too much to handle while I was standing up. I nearly fainted."

"Ruby, would you be okay if we kissed you like that too?"

"I think that sounds awesome."

"I think you should sit down on the blanket first," Velvet said as she fanned herself with her hand. "It will be easier to get at you this way. Let us know right away if it doesn't feel good and you want to stop, okay?"

"You got it." Ruby grabbed her plaid shirt and sat down on the blanket. She then placed the shirt behind her head to form a makeshift pillow and laid down on it. Coco and Velvet took spots laying down next to her and kept themselves busy for a moment by stroking Ruby's face and hair. Coco then leaned down and softly sucked on Ruby's neck, making the younger girl squirm. She made sure she was being gentle enough to not leave a hickey since she'd probably get punched into the sun for that. Velvet soon began mimicking Coco's actions on the other side of Ruby's neck. Ruby let out a small whine as she writhed on the ground from the efforts of the two older girls.

"Are you okay? Should we stop?" Velvet asked worriedly.

"No, please don't," gasped Ruby raggedly. "That felt so incredible." Velvet nodded in confirmation and returned her mouth to what she was doing. She started getting sloppy as she added her tongue to the mix and traced it all along Ruby's neck. Meanwhile, Coco had slid back up Ruby's face and was now kissing her ear. She knew how much Velvet enjoyed that as well and decided to test if Ruby would feel the same. The happy hums coming from Ruby definitely seemed to indicate success for Coco.

"You are so beautiful and amazing, Ruby," whispered Coco in her ear. "There's nothing more I want than to make you and Velvet feel like this all the time. Thank you so much for giving me a chance and being patient with me."

"Sweetheart, shut up and keep kissing her," mumbled Velvet. Coco chuckled and followed her girlfriend's advice as she lightly gnawed on Ruby's neck. Without thinking, Coco's hand found its way onto Ruby's breast and gave it a soft squeeze.

"Whoa, I think that's a little too far right now," Ruby said as her eyes flew open.

"Oops, sorry. Yeah, that was uncalled for," Coco replied in shame.

"I think we should probably stop now before we get too carried away," suggested Velvet as she sat back up. "We have plenty of time to get more physical with each other some other time."

"Yeah, I think that's a good idea," replied Ruby. Her tone indicated a hint of disappointment but she knew that this was the smart thing to do.

"So, now what should we do?" Coco asked as she also rose to a sitting position. "The food's all gone but I don't feel like hiking all the way back home yet."

"How about we go swimming?" Ruby asked as her eyes lit up. "It's getting hot out and I could use a chance to cool off."

"Great idea. Except I don't think any of us packed swimsuits." Coco said with disappointment. Ruby did have a point at how hot it was getting now. And a refreshing dip would have been nice.

"Well…" began Ruby hesitantly, unsure if she should say the idea she just got, "we are all alone out here and we're all super comfortable with each other. Do you wanna just go in our underwear?"

"I guess I don't see anything wrong with that," Velvet said slowly as she tried to contain a blush at how scandalous the idea sounded.

"Great! Race you into the water!" Before either Velvet or Coco could react, Ruby had torn off her tanktop and was shimmying out of her pants. Once she was down to her bra and boyshorts, Ruby scampered off and leaped from the edge of the shore into the water. She soon reemerged and yelled out, "Holy dust, that is cold!"

Velvet giggled at Ruby's antics before yelling back, "I'll be there in a minute to help warm you up!" She then unzipped her dress and let it fall to the ground before stepping out into the water herself. Ruby wasn't kidding about how chilly it was and Velvet took her time in walking out. Ruby grew impatient and began splashing water at Velvet, causing the Faunus to shriek. Seeking revenge, Velvet dove in and swam out to Ruby to return fire.

Coco simply chuckled at their display as she carefully stripped out of her clothes. They were expensive so she made sure to take extra care to fold them neatly and place them away from any dirt on the ground. Once she'd finally gotten her stockings off, Coco watched Ruby and Velvet's roughhousing and noticed the shade being cast over them from a tree branch hanging over the lake. Coco got an idea and snuck away behind the tree to avoid detection from the other too.

"Coco, are you coming or not?" Ruby yelled as Velvet tried to dunk her head under the water.

"Hey, where is she?" Velvet asked in befuddlement as she looked to the shore and didn't see her girlfriend anywhere. She and Ruby both stopped their horsing around and scanned the area for Coco but didn't see her anywhere.

"Look out below!" Coco shouted triumphantly. Ruby and Velvet looked up to see Coco jumping out of the tree branch above them and on a direct path to where they were wading. They scrambled to get out of the way as Coco hit the water with a tremendous splash that soaked them even more. Immediately, Coco sprang out of the water screaming, "COLD! DEAR OUM IN HEAVEN, THAT IS COLD!"

Ruby and Velvet laughed before teaming up to pay Coco back for her sneak attack. The three spent several minutes splashing each other and laughing happily. But when they all ran out of breath, they huddled together to try and keep warm from the cool temperature of the water. Ruby took a hand each from Velvet and Coco and locked them together. She then placed both of her hands around theirs and held them all together in a new bond.

"This has been the best day ever," said Ruby contently.

"You have no idea how much it means to hear you say that," sighed Coco in relief. All of the stress she had been feeling for the past few days was finally gone. She hadn't screwed everything up. She could make Ruby happy. She could do this.

"It has been pretty amazing, hasn't it?" Velvet said serenely.

"And I was wondering something." Both the other girls looked expectantly at Ruby as she paused before saying, "I don't want this to be the only day like this. I want to have a lot more. So, will you be my girlfriend, Coco and Velvet?"

"Absolutely, Ruby," replied Velvet instantly.

"It would be an honor to be your girlfriend," answered Coco as well. The three then moved in together to share a tight hug. Having had enough of the water, they all then swam back to shore and laid out on the blanket to let the sun dry their underwear before getting dressed again. They stayed like that for several hours, snuggling amongst each other and enjoying the time together, all of them ecstatic that this was going to be the first day of many more to come.


End file.
